


When A Siren Loves A Human

by BadLuckBlueEyes



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Canon Disabled Character, Erik is Crushing Harder than a 12-year Old Girl, F/M, M/M, but so is charles, charles is a siren, mermaid fic!, when it says major character death it's only characters who die in canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-02
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-06-05 19:25:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6718675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadLuckBlueEyes/pseuds/BadLuckBlueEyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charles is a siren who enjoys drowning and eating humans. Of course, he never expected to fall in love with one...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My contribution for xmenbigbang. This whole experience writing this fic has been really cool and I've loved the whole process. That said, I couldn't have done it without a bunch of people, so I'm taking a moment to thank all of them. I want to thank afrocurl and industandstarlight for beta reading the fic and making it so much better than it was when I started. I also need to give a HUGE thank you to thacmis for her beautiful illustrations. Make sure to compliment her on her gorgeous work, which is linked.

The crash of a wave on the shore in the distance. Charles swam behind it, stopping before the next wave could form, pushing his head through the surface. A smile curved across his lips, pulling up into a sneer. The night was dark, silent. He was ready to change that. His head fell under the waves as he turned, strong tail propelling him through the water as he swam out, where the ground dropped off and the ocean grew deeper, farther than any man could swim. 

Charles kept going, unworried. He moved through the water like an eel, cutting through it. The ultimate predator. Everything else swam out of his way, scurrying elsewhere lest Charles find himself hungry, in need of a snack. Charles swam without fear. He had no need of it, not here, not now. Not ever. 

He drew closer to the ship he had been lazily following. He took his time, knowing he could catch up in seconds if he truly desired it. But he was enjoying the chase, letting the anticipation build. He did so enjoy drowning sailors. He was a siren after all. His voice brought about the deaths of those who dared to swim through his sea.

His sea was rarely cold, and Charles was proud of that. He hated the cold, hated how his prey adapted to the cold. They became too fat and slow. There was no challenge for Charles with the fat and slow. The thrill of the chase melted away when lazy fish bumped into his tail. And the chill made the scales of his tail stick up. It slowed him down too. He hated all of it. 

When his first home grew to be too cold, he moved on, searching for a place where he would be warm and could live in peace. No matter where he went, Charles was the ultimate predator. Life was easier that way. Though he was starting to slow down. If he was becoming complacent, it was only because he had lived a long time. Centuries, by the human’s standards, though he looked like a young adult to human eyes.  It was likely time that he find a mate. But Charles had no desire for a mate. He wanted to stay by himself. A mate meant younger sirens to provide for.

He had a long time to live, still. Another human century, at least. 

He knew that his time was slower than the humans’. He had been listening to them for decades, learning their languages in bits and pieces. He never tried to talk to them, but he’d found in the past that he could follow bits of their conversations if he tried. 

Charles found their language fascinating. He liked hearing them talk. He loved learning it. Sometimes, he wondered how he would sound talking to them, if he could talk without hypnotizing them. He thought that if he did try talking, they would fall under his spell and instinct would take over. He’d drown and eat them without a second thought. 

Sometimes it was hard to fight centuries worth of instinct. 

The ship grew ever closer. Charles adjusted his course, shifting over to begin circling the large boat. He swam up, breaking the surface. As he surfaced, he sniffed the air. It was smoky. The haze was too rough on him; too human. It scraped painfully across his throat and he growled in pain. He plunged down, taking deep breaths as he swam, clearing it away. He could almost feel the smoke imprinting itself in his throat, and he needed it gone. 

Everything needed to be clear and smooth if he was going to be singing that night. 

He popped above the water for one more moment, looking for the smoke. A large smile nearly split his face in two, revealing rows of pointed teeth. He ducked back under when the smoke got too close again. 

The ship was burning. The ship was burning and the men on board were already jumping into the water. It was a pleasant surprise. Charles was pleased. It was the little things like that really, truly made his nights. 

His victims were already in his domain. They were more susceptible to his song. 

Several feet away, a large piece of burning wood fell from the ship and plunged into the water, the fire extinguishing on contact. Charles backtracked and swam away from it. He watched the wood bob up and down, as if it were deciding whether or not to sink. He turned away, because he cared little for burning hunks of ship unless they also held life atop it. 

He wanted to find someone he could sing to. Someone that  _ would  _ sink when he got close enough, someone that would plunge to the depths with him when he grabbed the loose bits of fabric the humans liked covering themselves with. 

He needed something that would gasp and struggle until the water filled their lungs and they drifted away in pieces by the time Charles was done with them.  

Charles had never been particularly picky with the gender of his meals. He did prefer when they wore fewer bits of fabric though. He despised getting their lace stuck in his teeth. It was a chore to remove when it got tangled in his mouth. His webbed fingers were ill-suited to such human nonsense. 

Charles turned in a slow circle, trying to find his bearings. The burning debris was getting in his way, and he was less than pleased that he was so confused with his precise location. These were his waters. He should know them better. 

After a long moment - too long - he saw his favorite outcropping of rocks jutting out from the waves. He swam towards them through the minefield of the destroyed ship. 

Charles was used to ships passing through the area. His sea was a good place for ships to pass through. The water was warm and pleasant, and the ships cut through it almost as easily as Charles did, on their way to their grand destinations.They came by frequently enough for him to look forward to a good meal from each unsuspecting soul on board that dared to venture too close to the edge. He looked forward to those days.

Charles slipped deeper into the ocean, swimming under the debris. He stopped at the rocks, running one hand over them as he swam up. He surveyed the people piling up in lifeboats when he surfaced. The ship was almost completely destroyed, the remains of the burnt hull sinking out of sight. 

Best of all, nobody had noticed him. Not one. 

Charles started to pull himself up on the rock. He was going to eat very well tonight. 

He opened his mouth to sing. 

“ _ ERIK _ !” Someone interrupted him before he could start. Loudly. They were screaming, staring at the ship. 

Charles followed their horrified stares. A man had lept from the remains of the ship. He was clearly injured, one leg bent at a strange angle; jumping into the water would only hurt him more. 

Charles stared in fascination at the man as he flailed in the air. The man was beautiful. Supernaturally so. Charles was reminded of another siren, all sharp lines and defined angles. 

Impulsively, Charles slipped from the rock and shot through the water. He would get to the man faster than any of the humans. Approximately three seconds later, he did. 

Hunger pooled lazily in his stomach and for a moment, Charles fought the instinct to bite down on the man’s flesh, which looked delicious. His teeth were sharp and his bite quick enough that the man wouldn’t feel anything. The urge to feed almost overwhelmed him. 

The man’s face stopped him. Floating in front of him, his lungs no doubt filling with water, he looked peaceful. Like he belonged. As if water was his element, even in the face in impending death. 

Charles couldn’t kill him.

Instead, he swam closer, looped one arm across the man’s chest, and swam to the surface. 

Charles pushed forward, keeping the other man above the surface. As they swam, Charles’ gills closed as he kept breathing above the surface. He hissed in pain as he started breathing through his nose. The transition, while quick, stung and Charles did not enjoy it. 

He did not know why he was saving the man. The humans had shouted the word Erik again and again when the man jumped. Erik had to be what they called him. 

Charles liked that. It was short. Melodic. It commanded power. Erik suited the human’s hard features, features that were still relaxed while the man slept. Erik had not woken since Charles rescued him. He had coughed and coughed and coughed until water poured from his mouth, then nothing. 

Charles would rather Erik stay asleep until they reached the nearby island, where he assumed Erik came from. Charles had watched the ship sail away from the island before its demise. Ships traveled to and from the island somewhat frequently, and it was the only livable island for miles. Charles reasoned that if the island was not Erik’s home, he would have the means to return to wherever he was from when he woke. 

Either way, Erik would be out of Charles’ hands and the siren would be able to move on. 

Or, he would have been able to move on had Erik not snapped awake in his arms while Charles was trying to get rid of him. 

“What?” Erik asked intelligently, looking around in confusion. His gaze then slid down to Charles and to the siren’s arm on his chest. 

“What are you doing? Get off of me!” He struggled in Charles’ grip. Charles did nothing. He was stronger. He continued to hold onto Erik and swim. 

At last, the island came into view. Charles had been swimming slowly in an effort to keep Erik alive. When Charles swam at his normal speed with humans in tow, they had a bad habit of... breaking. While it usually gave him quicker access to their flesh, Charles was going to save this one. So, he went achingly slow while Erik squirmed in his arms for another minute.

“Who are you?” Erik finally asked. Charles slapped Erik’s good leg with his tail but said nothing. 

Erik glanced down and panicked, fighting Charles’ iron grip again. He stopped with a groan only when he jostled his injured leg. 

“I’m definitely going to die,” Erik said, adding something in a language Charles didn’t recognize. He shook his head at Erik and continued on. 

“You can understand me?” Erik asked,.

Charles nodded. 

“You’re not going to kill me?”

He shook his head again. 

“Are you the siren that lives in the bay?”

Charles simply nodded once more.

“You drowned a lot of good men,” Erik accused, eyes narrowed. He sighed through his nose and glared out at the sea, refusing to talk to Charles for a few minutes.

Charles shrugged and kept swimming. He did drown people. Sometimes his sister drowned them too. It was their way of life. The motion bobbed Erik up and down in the water. The other man spluttered as he went under for a moment. Charles sighed and adjusted his grip so that Erik wouldn’t slip again. 

“Why?” Erik asked, curiously now, though his eyes remained wary. 

Charles pressed his hands to Erik’s middle, webbed fingers spreading out over his stomach. 

“Oh,” Erik murmured, eyes glued to Charles’ hand as it moved away from his stomach. The anger returned and grey eyes stormed. “Eat fish, then.”

Charles closed his eyes. How did he explain to humans that fish were too small, and not enough of a challenge? Anyone could eat fish. That he enjoyed fish and human seemed beyond Erik’s level of comprehension. 

“Can you talk? This would be easier if you talked,” Erik said with a sigh, looking back to the shore.

Charles nodded. 

“Why haven’t you been talking?” 

Charles raised one eyebrow and sent a withering glare his way.

“You’ll hypnotize me,” Erik realized. 

Charles nodded. 

“Okay,” he said quietly, probably deciding he’d rather not hear a siren’s song. 

They continued in silence as the shore drew closer. 

“Why did you save me?” Erik asked as they reached a place where he could put his feet down on the sand without being completely submerged.

Charles softly released his hold, minding the injury. Erik stood on one leg, moving his arms absently through the water to keep his balance. 

“Why?” Erik asked again, watching as Charles floated away. 

Charles tilted his head as he considered Erik’s question. Finally, he reached forward, brushing a lock of Erik’s hair away from his face. Erik leaned into the touch, watching Charles in fascination. 

“Do you have a name?” Erik’s voice was hoarse as he asked the last question. Charles pursed his lips, trying to figure out how to answer. Before either of them could react, the same voice that had drawn Charles to Erik several hours before interrupted them. 

“Erik!” A woman shrieked, running across the sand. Charles recognized her clothing in the early morning light as the kind that everyone on the island wore - loose and comfortable, perfect for the climate and for ripping into with his teeth. 

It was enough to distract Erik. 

“Mother?” he turned, watching the woman approach. 

Charles slowly withdrew his hand from Erik’s face, looking at him for a long moment. He plunged back into the sea, taking a deep, satisfying breath when his gills opened.

***

“Erik,” his mother said again, rushing into the waves to pull him into a tight hug. “We thought we lost you again.”

“You didn’t,” Erik reassured her distractedly,  trying to catch the shimmering blue tail disappear into the surf. It was the same color as the siren’s eyes, but he couldn’t be sure. The moon was setting, there was nowhere near enough light to tell.

“I’m here,” Erik continued. “But I think I broke my leg.”

“I’m sure the doctor is awake. Everyone is, we thought you drowned. You disappeared so quickly,” his mom started pulling him to shore, pulling his arm around her shoulders so he could hop towards the castle. “What would we do if Genosha lost her crown prince?”

“Things would go on,” Erik replied. She shook her head as she clucked at him.

“How did you end up there?” his mother asked, a graceful tilt of her head at where she found him. 

“I… don’t know,” Erik admitted. “I guess I was saved.”

He looked over his shoulder at the spot the siren left him. Something in his chest warmed at the sight of it, feeling as though an invisible thread was pulling him back. He wished he could see the siren again. 


	2. Chapter 2

Every day for a week Charles returned to the spot on the beach, and after that, he started visiting other parts of the island. He did not know what he expected, but he told himself the longing feeling intensifying with every visit was not it. 

With every trip, he hoped that Erik would be there so he could say,  _ Charles, my name is Charles _ . But he could not because then Erik would be under his spell and breaking it would only end in Erik’s death. 

And to Charles, Erik was… 

Erik was everything that Charles was not. Warm, soft. Caring, Charles saw, as he watched the human visit people on the island. But sharp at the same time. Distinct. He stood out from the other humans, his youth making him delectable in more ways than one.

Erik was royalty. Charles had saved the prince of the island he used as a buffet. He did not know how he felt about it. 

But they all loved Erik, as he went around in a contraption with round things to greet people, the lower half his broken leg wrapped in layers of bandages. Small children climbed on his lap, demanding rides. Charles always watched, perched on the closest rock he could find, as Erik moved in a small circle before guiding the child away. He didn’t look like he particularly enjoyed it, but he tolerated it because they loved him. 

The woman who found Erik on the beach was always with him, and Charles as figured out later, Erik’s mother, the queen. She seemed far happier than Erik, crouching down to the children’s size to greet them with a big smile before straightening to talk to the adults. 

Erik looked at her like she hung the moon on the sky. Charles envied her. 

He always slipped back into the waves moments before Erik could see him 

At night, Charles circled the island, eating whatever fish he could get his hands on. He surfaced occasionally to watch again, never close enough for people to notice him.

That was, of course, until he did get too close and Erik caught him.

The lowest level of the palace perched on the side of a small cliff, looking out to the sea. 

Charles liked looking at the palace. It was small and fit seamlessly into the natural curves of the island. There was a large outcropping of rocks fairly close to it, and Charles pulled himself onto them one night, only to find Erik waiting on the edge of the cliff in the same contraption from the other day. 

“I knew I’d see you again,” Erik said, voice carrying down to the rocks. 

Charles tilted his head, regarding Erik curiously. 

“I never thanked you for saving me,” Erik continued. “I would have drowned.”

Charles nodded. 

They were quiet for a moment, watching each other. 

“I wonder what you sound like,” Erik mused. 

Charles thought about it for a moment. Then he put one hand on his throat, pointed at Erik, and flopped off of his rock, splashing into the water in a dramatic mimicry of Erik dying. 

When he surfaced, Erik was laughing. 

“I’m not going to ask to hear you speak, then,” Erik decided as Charles slipped onto the rock again. “We’ll have to figure something else out. Do you know how to read?”

Charles stared blankly at him. He didn’t know what reading was. Erik frowned. 

“Erik, who are you talking to?” His mother’s voice floated out onto the cliff. 

“Nobody, Mama,” Erik looked over his shoulder as he replied. Charles slid into the water, keeping his eyes above the surface to watch as Erik’s mother stepped to the cliff’s edge next to Erik, looking out over the sea. 

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked. 

“Yes,” Erik agreed, voice solemn. 

“It will be yours someday,” she said, placing one hand on Erik’s shoulder.

Charles bristled, hearing that. 

“I can’t own the sea. Nobody can,” Erik looked up at her.

Charles relaxed. He decided that he liked Erik more than previously thought. And he already liked Erik a lot.

“No, I suppose you can’t,” his mother agreed. “But you’ll rule this land well.”

“You’re just saying that,” Erik grumbled. 

“Well, we’ll find out when you become king,” she laughed. “Come inside soon, it’s getting late.”

Erik’s mother turned and left. He glanced back down, finding Charles immediately. 

Charles rose slightly higher out of the water, the cold night air biting his torso. 

“I have to go,” Erik said. “Will you come back tomorrow?”

Charles looked at him for a long moment, unblinking, before he nodded and slipped under the surface again. 

***

“You’re moping,” a voice Charles hadn’t heard in a long time sounded behind him and he paused with a fish halfway to his mouth. 

“And you neglected to tell me that you were coming to visit,” he retorted. Raven rolled her eyes and stole the fish from Charles’ grip.

“I told you I’d come back to this part of the sea,” she replied, taking a bite of the fish and slapping his tail with her own, a darker blue than Charles’. “I just never said when.”

“Right, that was it,” Charles reached for a new fish. 

“Tell me why you’re moping,” Raven demanded, crossing her arms and floating next to Charles. “When I left you were hunting and preying on bigger meat. Now you’re just grabbing whatever happened to be in front of your face. Where’s the killer instinct?”

“I saved a human,” Charles replied. 

“What?” Raven quickly circled Charles, stopping inches from his face as she looked him up and down. “You’re not kidding.” she realized.

“No,” Charles shook his head. 

“Why? Why didn’t you just eat him?” Raven asked, backing away slightly, creating space between them. 

“I couldn’t, I…” Charles trailed off, “He’s the prince of the island.”

“So?” Raven asked. “Not your problem.”

“He was drowning,” Charles said.

“So you finish the job,” 

“It’s not that simple,” Charles protested.

“Yes, it is,” Raven countered. “We’re not human, we’re not like them. We’re better.”

Charles flinched before asking, “What if we’re not?” 

Raven’s face hardened and she shook her head. 

“I never could understand you,” she snapped. “I don’t know why you suddenly love them, but if you like the humans so much, you should go join them.”

She swam off.

“I just love one,” Charles said uselessly. His response was too quiet to carry to Raven. 

***

That night, Charles swam in anxious circles around the rocks opposite the castle, waiting for Erik, who hobbled out a few minutes later on a wooden crutch. 

Charles looked up at Erik as the other man carefully lowered himself to the ground, sitting with his legs dangling over the side of the cliff. 

“You came back,” Erik sounded delighted. 

Charles, already perched on his rock, nodded. He stayed there for hours while Erik talked to him, asking him questions he did not know the answers to. He absolutely loved it. 

It became a ritual, meeting each other every night. Charles spent his days longing for evening to come faster so he could see Erik. 

On some nights they fought, despite their language barrier. Charles would disagree and Erik would storm off, hobbling back into the castle in a rage. But the next night, he would always be there, waiting.

“I wish you were human,” Erik sighed one night, “There are so many things on the island I want to show you, so many things I want to talk to you about.” 

“I want to hear your voice.” He added as an afterthought. 

Charles realized it was time to go visit someone he had decided he would see a long time ago. 

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor gore/violence in this chapter, please be warned.

Unfortunately for Charles, the sea serpent’s lair was nowhere near the island. It was on the other side of the world, hidden in the deepest caverns on the ocean’s floor. 

Charles shuddered as he swam into the serpent’s territory. Nothing in its right mind ever ventured here. Even the water felt dead. It was murky, dark, and Charles could barely see as he headed for the place where he knew the cave to be. The water pushed him down, its weight draping across Charles’ back and shoving him closer to the bottom of the ocean. 

It suffocated him and for a moment Charles wished he could drown in it, if only to get out of there and be anywhere else. 

The creature known as the serpent was actually a siren, like Charles. He had only come to be known as the serpent with the passing of time. He was eons older than Charles, one of the first sirens to swim in the sea, but he had been cheating death for centuries, supernaturally prolonging his own life by taking others.

It was said that there was once magic in the sea, in the ebb and crash of every wave. Anyone could talk to it, could learn the secrets the sea had to offer. But the magic was long gone, stolen and hidden away in the depths of his cave. After a long time, after it mastered every one of the sea’s darkest secrets and took them for itself, the tides began to refer to it only in whispers, calling it the undying serpent.

Charles knew that the serpent had no respect for the sea. It merely abused the currents and manipulated them into doing whatever he needed.

And now Charles needed the thing’s help. Nothing else was capable of the magic Charles sought. 

That the cave was nearly on the other side of the world was not of consequence to Charles, who was fast enough to make the journey in a few hours. How he was going to get back to the island after he transformed, he had yet to figure out. 

The water pushed Charles to depths he had never been to before. It was colder than anything he had ever experienced and his skin prickled, scales on his tail shifting and poking up as he swam. He swam through black water, only able to see because his eyes were better suited to the darkness than anyone else’s. Even with his advantage, he was still swimming in near-absolute darkness the closer he got to the cave. 

In a few minutes, he would not be able to see at all. 

Something smooth brushed across his stomach and Charles froze, every muscle in his body tensing while his mind screamed out that he was not alone.

Charles was very unused to feeling like he might become someone else’s prey. 

He gently lowered one hand, quickly lifting it back to his side when he encountered sand. He was at the bottom of the sea. The cave could be anywhere. He was just about lost.

As if sensing his confusion, a bright red fish appeared at his side, gentle ripples spreading from where it had appeared. The fish looked like it was glowing, giving off enough soft, red light to diffuse the inky darkness surrounding them. 

It regarded Charles curiously for a long moment. 

Charles squinted in return, the sudden light illuminating the water around him, disorienting him. 

They continued to watch each other before before the fish suddenly turned, swimming off into the darkness. It moved forward several feet, stopping to look back at Charles. 

Charles got the hint and followed the red spot moving steadily away to a small hole in the ground. It had to be the serpent’s cave. 

He slipped through the hole. It was narrow, barely wide enough for him to fit through. The walls of the cave teemed with something, but he didn’t know what as he swam by, going down below the seabed. Ghosts of fingers reached out, stroking his arms, whispering to him. He could not tell what they were saying. He did not think he wanted to get close enough to find out. 

Abruptly, the tunnel ended and Charles found himself in the middle of a large cavern. Stalactites dripped from the ceiling, points melting into the stalagmites blooming from the ground. He turned slowly, looking over his shoulder to take it in. 

Long, spindly fingers wrapped around one; a pale, slender arm following a moment later. 

“Azazel, what did we bring?” A voice hissed through the water. The red fish swam to the hand gripping the stalactite. The fingers peeled away from the rock one by one to lovingly stroke the fish, which blinked out of  existence a moment later. Then a head appeared, the sea serpent making itself seen at last. 

Charles steadied himself as the older siren looked him over. The rumors of its appearance, while few, did not describe him. They could not account for how pale it was, or for its nearly translucent tail, the muscles shimmering under the scales almost completely visible. 

Charles looked at the serpent and noted that it was so thin and lean that he could count all of the bones shifting and grinding together under skin that looked centuries old. 

“And who are we?” the serpent asked, gliding closer. It drew out all of its words, soft vowels growing sharp in Charles’ ears as they lingered around him. 

“A siren,” Charles swallowed bile. 

“That has been noticed,” the serpent grinned, revealing rows of pointed teeth to rival Charles’. It raised one hand to trace two fingers down Charles’ cheek. “And what brings us here?”

“I want to become a human,” Charles said. The serpent drew back.

“Do we now?” it asked, tilting its head to regard Charles curiously. 

“Yes,” Charles stared at the serpent, unblinking. 

“Why would we want to do such a thing?” the serpent crossed its arms.

“For a human,” Charles replied.

“We want to do this for a human,” the serpent echoed. “Are we aware that the humans are small and breakable? Why would we want to do this to ourselves?”

“For a special human,” Charles growled.

“We would give this up?” the serpent gestured to Charles’ lithe tail.

Charles nodded.

“Do we know that it comes at a great cost?” the serpent narrowed its eyes.  

Charles nodded again. The serpent watched him for a long moment. Charles felt rather judged. 

“Very well. Come,” the serpent turned sharply, disappearing into a small offshoot of the main cave. 

Charles followed the serpent into the next cave. It was nearly identical to the first, save for a large stalagmite in the middle of the room that had been hollowed out into a large bowl. He stared into its depths while the serpent moved about the cave.

“Are we ready to hear the terms?” the serpent spoke suddenly, disrupting the uneasy silence. Charles nodded. 

“We need to make a great sacrifice to begin the magic. And then our body will change. The tail will split and shorten into legs. The teeth will shrink to human size. The fingers will lose the webbing. The gills will close and disappear. We will be human,” the serpent’s black eyes focused on Charles.

“We will do this slowly. We will swim to the surface first. We are too far away from the surface to survive. The ocean will crush us first. So we will change slowly as we return to our home.”

“What happens when I go onto land?”

“We will be out of our element. The land will burn our feet with each step. It will feel as if a thousand stalagmites are pressing into our legs,” the serpent tapped the edge of the bowl. “Do we have any more questions?”

“Can I still swim?” Charles asked, the weight of what he was about to do settling into his stomach. 

“Yes,” the serpent answered. “We will swim as we have always swum, but with the absence of gills. If we breathe in the water, we drown.” 

“How do you know all of this for certain?” Charles asked next.

“The serpent has been human. It did not enjoy the land and returned to the sea,” the serpent looked down his nose at Charles.

“Are you the one from the old legends?” Charles raised his eyebrows in surprise. He had heard legends of the serpent helping a siren change into a human, to go to the land, only to cast himself back into the sea when the human he loved denied him. The siren had never been heard from again. 

_ Shaw _ , Charles remembered. That was his name. 

“The serpent and the siren are the same. The legend is confused,” the serpent turned its back to Charles. “The serpent will start now if there are no more questions.” 

The serpent snapped its fingers and the red fish appeared suddenly, popping into existence where it hadn’t been before. 

“How does the fish do that?” Charles asked. The serpent looked over its shoulder to regard Charles with something like annoyance.

“The serpent has given Azazel a small charm that unlocks a power Azazel has always had but never been able to see. The fish who abuses the power guards the entry to the serpent’s lair,” the serpent turned around to glare at Charles.

Charles thought back to the ghosts that had reached out to him while swimming into the cave and shuddered. 

“It is time we made the sacrifice,” the serpent announced, producing a long, thin blade that it had likely pilfered from a human shipwreck. It spoke softly, chanting something under its breath. The blade began to glow blue. 

“What do we wish to sacrifice?” the serpent demanded.

“My voice,” Charles said with more confidence than he felt in his position. “On land I would only hurt people with it.”

“Very well,” the serpent agreed.

Faster than Charles had thought possible, the serpent reached out and grabbed Charles’s face, holding it firmly. It pried open his mouth and pulled his tongue. The blue blade slashed through it, severing it neatly. 

The serpent put Charles’ tongue in the bowl and started chanting in a language Charles had never heard before. He was too busy choking on the blood pouring from his mouth to focus.

All at once, the bleeding stopped and Charles could breathe again. He looked at the serpent in amazement, gasping.

“It would not do for us to die before we reached the surface,” the serpent clucked its tongue, mocking Charles. 

Charles gasped a few times as he remembered how to breathe. 

“Are we ready?” the serpent asked. “The spell is going to hurt us very badly.”

Charles, despite being very unready, nodded anyway.

The serpent looked pleased and it continued speaking in the same language.

Pain lanced through Charles, as if he were being cut in half with a torch. His tail started twitching and shaking, and Charles sank to the ground as he lost control of it. 

He screamed, a wordless cry of pain echoing throughout the cave. The serpent ignored him and started speaking louder, its chanting covering Charles’ screams. 

After several minutes as the pain increased, Charles blacked out, sinking into unconsciousness.

The serpent woke him when it was done, one longer finger jabbing his shoulder. Charles blinked awake, baring his teeth as instinct took over, ready to kill. After a moment, the murderous sensation faded to cool indifference. The serpent chuckled, a throaty sound not unlike nails dragging over a piece of glass. 

“We are not in danger,” it said, nudging Charles’ mouth shut. 

Charles frowned, one hand raising to his mouth. His teeth had changed. Gone were the rows of jagged spikes, replaced by a single row of dull squares. He wondered what it looked like. 

The sensation of his fingers running over his lips was changed too, and Charles curiously pulled his hand away from his face to investigate it. The webbing that had connected his fingers had disappeared. The only indication that it had ever been there were faint white lines running up and down the sides of each finger. 

He glanced at his still intact tail, panicking for a moment that the spell hadn’t worked and that he’d gone through all of the pain for nothing, before remembering what the serpent had said.

His throat ached and Charles closed his eyes, rubbing it gently. 

“Do we hurt?” the serpent asked, gliding close. 

Charles nodded, opening his eyes to glare at the serpent.

“We must leave for the surface now, so we can begin living as a human,” the serpent prodded Charles, nudging him out into the main cave. “Azazel will guide us out of the darkness.”

The red fish appeared, bright yellow eyes watching Charles. It swam forward, stopping at the entrance to the cave. 

Charles looked to the sea serpent one last time but it was ignoring him, having dismissed him to go back to whatever it normally did. He looked forward to the entrance of the cave and followed the faint red glow out.

As he passed through the long tunnel, heading up to exit the cave, the ghosts reached out to him again, gentler this time, patting him on the back, leaving encouraging touches on his arms. 

One ghost reached out, pressing something into his hand. Charles frowned and closed his fingers into a fist around it, deciding to examine it when he could see again.

The fish swam in front of him, the quiet light it gave off guiding the way. 

Charles swallowed nervously. He thought his mouth felt bigger without a tongue. He wondered how he was supposed to eat. 

His tail pained him as he swam, as if the effort of staying in one piece was too much effort for it. It ached to split into two. 

Everything pained him, really. Whatever the serpent had done to him had ripped through his body, setting everything on fire and leaving him burnt and broken and something entirely different than he had been before. Charles was tired. He wanted to sleep. 

Charles pushed all self-doubt out of his mind. Erik had to be happy to see him, otherwise nothing would be worth it. If Erik did not like it, he would make it worth it. The serpent had not said anything about reversing the process, so if he could not go back into the sea, he would have to do something else. 

Charles refused to think of anything else. 

The tunnel ended at last, and Charles was treated to the slightly less pitch black water surrounding him. 

Azazel stopped and looked at Charles, dismissing him. Charles swam away, pausing to open his hand and look at the small ring the ghost had pressed into his palm. His eyes widened as he realized it was one of the charms the serpent had talked about, that would unlock a power he had always had but never been able to access. 

*

The fish watched Charles realize what the ring could do. Rather than alerting the serpent, it chose to ignore the gross breach of trust. It had never wanted to become an immortal servant to the most evil thing in the sea. 

*

Charles made slow progress back to his waters. It was not as fast as he was used to, taking almost an entire day rather than the few hours it had taken him to get there in the first place. 

Raven found him at the edge of his territory.

“What are you doing, so far from your island?” She asked, approaching him. Charles twitched, surprised by her arrival. Normally, he would have known that she was coming several minutes ago, tracking the shifts in the water as she got closer to him. Exhaustion wore at him.

His senses must be dulling, growing closer to the way the humans experienced life. Even now, the pressure of how deep into the ocean he was pounded on his eardrums, headache thundering from temple to temple. Charles rubbed at his face tiredly and swam forward. 

“What, no greeting?” Raven flipped onto her back and crossed her arms, slowing down to match Charles’ pace. Charles shook his head wearily. 

“Why so slow today? You never swim like this. Where’s the predator? Are you sick or something?” She pressed. Charles reached one hand out to nudge her away. Raven started to swat at him but narrowed her eyes and caught his hand, looking at it. 

“What happened to your arm?”

Charles said nothing. Raven spread his fingers apart, examining the faint white lines representing the remains of the webbing. She traced them with her hands before looking at his face.

“Your eyes are different. They look like your tail now. What did you do?” She asked, letting his hand go. “Charles, what did you do?”

He looked at her and shook his head. 

“What did you do?” Raven demanded, voice rising in pitch as she grew more worried. He simply shook his head again, trying to clear the distracting tone of Raven’s voice from his head. It sounded more melodic than it had in the past. He wasn’t about become hypnotized and drown before he got to the surface.

Raven swam in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. 

“You went to the serpent, didn’t you?” She asked. Charles stopped and tilted his head, regarding her. Eventually, he nodded, confirming what she already knew. 

“Did you turn yourself into a human for that one that you rescued?” Raven asked, though Charles thought that was obvious by this point. 

He nodded.

“Any particular reason you’re not answering?”

Charles opened his mouth. Raven peered in. 

“There better be a good reason for that,” she muttered, staring at the remainder of his tongue. 

Charles closed his mouth and nodded, reaching one hand out to Raven. Curious, she took it, and rolled her eyes when Charles leaned his weight on her.

“Come on, let’s get you to your stupid island,”

Charles leaned on her as they sped up, Raven’s speed bringing him back to the island faster than he could have gotten there alone. 

The ring burned his palm and Charles jumped slightly, nearly dropping it. He examined the ring before slipping it onto his finger. 

_ Can’t believe he did this stupid fish what in the sea was he thinking oh that’s shiny- _

“What is that?” Raven asked, looking at the ring.

Charles looked at it curiously and shrugged. 

_ The ghost from the cave must have had some kind of power,  _ he thought _. Now  _ he _ was getting some kind of power- _

“I can hear you,” Raven butted in. “In here.” She tapped her forehead.

“Charles, what did you do now?”

Charles looked at the ring on his hand and held it out for Raven to see. 

_ The serpent had these _ . He thought very deliberately at Raven, who flinched. 

“Stop that. I don’t know what it is, but stop,” She complained.

Charles nodded, slipping the ring off of his finger and holding it carefully. He could hear Raven’s thoughts. He could make her hear his. The serpent had said that the charm unlocked a power he had always had. If he could do this, he might be able to talk to Erik when he was on land. 

Charles smiled to himself, excited that he had gained the upper hand in the situation. 

It was dusk when his island came into view and Raven shoved him toward it, growing gentler after Charles hissed in pain. 

“What do you think you’ll look like without a tail?” Raven asked. Charles shook his head. He had no idea.

“You should do something to cover yourself. The humans always have those things on over their bodies.”

_ They’re called clothes _ , Charles thought as slipped the ring back on. 

“I don’t like that,” Raven said, lurching away from Charles. 

Charles frowned, but took the ring off anyway, not wanting to alienate her. 

“You need to get to the beach,” Raven said. “If you’re going to go be a human.”

Charles shook his head, continuing to swim past the shore, heading to the cliffs that rose above the island. He reached the outcropping of rocks across from Erik’s palace and breathed a sigh of relief. 

He knew Erik would be out soon, looking for him. Charles could wait on the rocks for him there.

_ Erik was smart _ , Charles thought. The prince would know. 

Raven followed Charles, her disapproval hanging cloudlike over Charles. Charles ignored it. 

When he reached the rock, he laid one hand on it and looked at Raven, indicating that he had arrived. She looked at him for a moment before shaking her head and disappearing. 

He hovered beneath the surface, waiting for Erik to come out.

After several minutes, the prince did, walking out for the first time in weeks without his crutch, smiling widely down at the water.

Charles exhaled in relief and pushed himself onto the rocks, arms shaking with the exertion. 

The second his head breached the surface, he gasped in pain as his gills snapped shut and melted away. His tail began to split, separating into two halves as he pulled himself onto the rock.

Dumbly, he pushed himself into a sitting position and watched as the two halves of his tail shrank, the scales popping off and falling into the water and the flesh underneath growing pale in the last rays of the sunset. 

Charles was too exhausted to be horrified. He slipped the ring onto his finger again to make sure that he wouldn’t lose it and fell back onto the rock, his eyes slipping closed as Erik starting shouting for help. 

There was a splash off to his side, and in a moment, strong arms were pulling him into a close embrace. Charles huddled into it, suddenly freezing. 

“You’re safe now. I’ve got you.” Erik murmured. Charles nodded, shivering violently. 

It felt like the easiest thing to do at that point was black out. So Charles did. 


	4. Chapter 4

Charles was only dimly aware of the next several hours as he was loaded onto a boat and brought onto the island. Erik held him the entire time. 

Eventually he ended up on something incredibly soft and warm, someone dressing him in a loose piece of human clothing. A man appeared and looked him over, poking and prodding him before declaring him exhausted but otherwise healthy, aside from his missing tongue. Charles flinched every time a new person entered the room, each new presence in his mind overwhelming him as he tried to adjust for many voices in his head instead of one. 

The night passed quickly, though few people in the palace slept. Everyone was curious about the new visitor that Prince Erik had carried in, though they kept quiet to prevent the rest of the island from finding out. 

The sun rose and set on the next day and Charles slept through it, occasionally tossing and turning as his body adjusted to the new living conditions. The doctor was brought in again and again he said that the stranger was healthy and would wake when he was ready. 

The information filtered slowly into Charles’ head and he realized that it was time to wake up. He had gone through a lot to get to the island. He had weakened himself significantly to the point where he could no longer call himself a predator. 

Something warm gripped his hand and squeezed it once. Charles started to worry that he was not ever going to wake up and that he would not get to meet the man who looked like the siren that saved him.

Those were not his worries, Charles realized. They were Erik’s. Erik was squeezing his hand and worrying about him. The warmth withdrew, replaced by the sound of something scraping against the ground, followed by the soft padding of bare feet against the tiles. 

Charles opened his eyes. 

It was dark in the room, the shine of the moon and stars softly illuminating the space he was in. He glanced around, taking it all in. The walls were pale, the same color as the sand on the beaches, and the room was full of windows that looked out to the sea. 

The sea called to Charles. It was a small but insistent tug in his gut, a yearning to go for a swim. His legs itched with anticipation at the thought of it. Charles blinked and turned his head.

He was greeted with Erik pacing back and forth next to his bed.    


As if sensing the change, Erik whirled around, relief flooding his expression. “You’re awake,” he breathed. 

Charles looked at him and was immediately disappointed. Not with Erik, Charles did not think Erik could disappoint him. What disappointed him was the fact that his human eyes could barely see Erik. The room was dark, but that had made no difference in the water. Charles had been able to see Erik so clearly for so long.

Erik stepped closer, into the moonlight. He retook his seat, leaving no space between the side of the bed and his chair. 

The moonlight did him more justice. Charles could see his face with more detail. That pleased him. Erik had a good face.

“It’s you, right? You’re the siren. My siren,” Erik asked, looking earnestly at Charles. 

Charles nodded, the corner of his mouth tilting up in a small smile. 

“I watched your tail turn into legs,” Erik continued. He looked at his lap, as if trying to figure out what to say next. “That had to hurt, didn’t it?”

Charles thought about it. The transformation itself had not hurt, but the spell had been indescribably agonizing. He nodded again.

“Why?” Erik asked. “I mean, why do that to yourself?”

Charles pointed at Erik. Erik leaned back in his chair.

“Oh,” He said. “For me?”

Charles nodded.

“I probably shouldn’t be this happy that you’re actually here if it hurt you,” Erik frowned. “I’m not- I mean, I wouldn’t do that for me.”

Charles shrugged a little. He pushed himself into a sitting position and looked at Erik, drinking him in. 

“Here, let me — ” Erik said, standing and rearranging the fluffy things behind Charles so he could lean back. “They gave you too many pillows.”

Charles leaned back, gasping slightly at the softness. He immediately turned around and prodded one of them. Pillows, Erik had said. Charles decided that he liked pillows. 

Erik chuckled, watching him.

“I still don’t know what to call you,” he complained softly. Charles’ eyes widened and he looked back at Erik.

_ Charles, _ Charles replied the only way he knew how to Erik.  _ My name is Charles. _

Erik jumped. 

“You’re a telepath?” he asked.

Charles shook his head, pointed at the small gold band on his finger and tapped his head. 

“What about the ring?” Erik asked.

_ I was told it would give me a power that I already had but could never use _ , Charles thought carefully at Erik.  _ The Serpent said it was a charm. Do humans have those? _

“Can you hear my thoughts?” Erik asked, ignoring Charles’ question. 

_ I taught myself to avoid the voices. I didn’t like them _ , Charles replied.

“That’s called telepathy here,” Erik replied. “It’s a rare power.”

Charles held up the hand with the ring and looked at it. 

_ I got it from the sea _ , He glanced at Erik. 

“However you got it,” Erik shrugged, “It’s a rare power.”

Charles lowered his hand to his lap and looked out the window.

“Can you hear my thoughts right now?” Erik asked.

Charles shook his head. 

_ I made the quiet ones go away, I don’t know how. But I keep hearing the loud ones. You were worrying I wasn’t going to wake up, _ Charles replied, looking back to Erik, who sighed in relief.

“I’m sure you can manage to figure it out. I’d appreciate you not listening to my thoughts if you can help it though,” he said.

Charles slipped the ring off of his finger.

“If you do that, can you talk?” Erik asked.

Charles put the ring back. 

“There are other ways to talk when you can’t say anything out loud, you know,” Erik said. “If you want to learn how to read and write, there’s that.” 

_ I like this _ , Charles nodded to the ring. 

“It’s not one or the other. You can do both,” Erik clarified. 

Charles’ mouth dropped into a small ‘o’ of acknowledgement before closing again. 

_ I don’t know what reading is _ , Charles admitted.

“It’s,” Erik said before pausing. “I don’t know how to explain it. Do you have stories in the sea? Or tales or legends?”

Charles nodded.

“People take those stories and put them down on paper and it’s on the paper so you can read it. There’s a way to write all the words we say out loud so when we look at the paper we can understand them. So everyone can read the stories and know them,” Erik explained. 

_ Human stories? _ Charles asked.

“No. Well, yes. There’s stories about humans but there’s stories about everything, like animals and made-up things,” Erik replied. 

_ Everyone can see them?  _

“You’ll see. We’ll visit the library later,” Erik promised.

Charles smiled a little and nodded. 

_ Are you a telepath?  _ Charles asked. Erik shook his head.

“Telepaths are rare. There are other powers someone can have,” Erik replied. 

_ Do you have a power?  _ Charles asked.

“I- sort of. I used to. It’s gone now,” Erik growled, biting his lip and looking away. 

_ I’m sorry,  _  Charles apologized. 

“It’s not- it’s nothing,” Erik replied. “How are you feeling?”

_ How am I feeling? I do not understand.  _

“Are you tired? Do you feel like you’re rested?”

Charles looked at his legs and considered the question for a minute. 

_ I feel like I am still tired. But better than I have been _ , Charles decided.

“Do you want to get up?” Erik asked. “Are you hungry?”

Charles nodded, pushing back the blankets. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, resting his feet on the ground. He marveled at the sensation of the cool tiles under his feet. He wondered how it would feel if he still had a tail. Different, probably, but he did not  know how. He did not know enough of the language the humans spoke on the island to give the feeling words.

“Can you stand?”” Erik asked. Charles looked up from his feet to Erik, expression curious.

“I mean,” Erik continued, “You’ve had a tail for your entire life. Do you know how to walk?”

_ I’ve seen humans doing it. You do this, _ he carefully remembered watching Erik’s pacing when he had woken up and looked at Erik to see if he had gotten it.

Erik nodded, lost in Charles’ thoughts. 

“Yeah. One foot in front of the other,” Erik said, adding a shy smile.

Charles nodded and pushed on the mattress, boosting himself to his feet. He fell immediately, when white hot pain lanced up his legs. He thought he had stepped into a hot spring, like the ones he had sometimes used to kill fish before eating, and that his legs had been burned to a crisp. 

When Charles looked at his legs from his crumpled heap on the floor, he was astonished to see they were fine. Only then did he remember the serpent’s warning 

“Do you need help?” Erik asked, by his side in an instant. Before Charles could respond, he had slung Charles’ arm around his neck. “Here, lean on me.”

Charles did, standing slowly, hissing in pain when he was upright again. Fire shot up his legs, sneaking through every muscle. The bottoms of his feet felt as though they were resting on the jagged remains of shells. He released his arm from Erik’s neck and fell back onto the bed. He put his face in his hands and sighed heavily.

“Can you walk?” Erik asked, sitting next to Charles, who shook his head, dropping his hands from his face.

_ The serpent said that when my tail split, every step would hurt me,  _ Charles said, leaning heavily on Erik. 

“How badly does it hurt?” Erik asked, brow furrowed in concern. 

Charles sent Erik the impression he had gotten. Erik flinched. 

“That’s bad. But we can work around that. I’ll be right back,” Erik stood and left the room, returning a moment later with the contraption Charles had seen Erik moving around in. “Use the wheelchair.”

Charles stood, gritting his teeth as he walked the three agonizing steps to get into it. As he settled, Erik spun them toward the door. 

“Where to?” Erik asked. Charles’ stomach growled loudly in response.

“Kitchen,” Erik decided. “We can do that.”

_ I do not know if I like this,  _ Charles thought as they headed out the door. 

“Like what?” Erik asked.

_ Being a human. Everything is different here,  _ Charles mused. He gently chewed on his lip. 

“Can you go back?” Erik asked. Charles shook his head. 

_ I do not know. _

“That’s not good,” Erik said.

They fell into silence as Erik pushed him down the long, open hallways. Tall windows dotted the walls, moonlight falling through each of them. 

“How are you going to eat?” Erik asked. “You don’t have a tongue.”

_ I do not know. I usually eat humans, but I do not think my stomach will appreciate that anymore _ , Charles replied, frowning.

“That’s called cannibalism,” Erik supplied. “You’re not supposed to do that. You should try some broth instead.”

Charles nodded and Erik pushed him into a room with a long table and several chairs. 

“Wait here,” Erik said firmly, crossing through a door in the wall and disappearing into a small room. There was a small crash and a muffled yell.

Charles smiled to himself and pushed himself up, limping the few steps to sit at the table. He slammed into one of the chairs, exhausted. The wood was cold against his legs and he shivered a little. 

Erik eventually emerged with a small bowl held in both hands. He brought it to Charles and sat down next to him. 

“I was going to move one of the chairs for you,” Erik grumbled as he nudged the bowl toward Charles, producing a spoon wrapped in a napkin from his pocket. Charles shrugged.

_ I should practice walking _ , he thought, pulling the broth closer. 

“You don’t have to. If it’s too painful you can just use the wheelchair,” Erik pointed out. Charles looked thoughtfully at it. The wheelchair seemed much more pleasant than the thought of walking. He would think about it. 

Charles decided to forgo the spoon and carefully lifted the bowl to his face, tipping some of the broth into his mouth. He put it back on the table after swallowing carefully and deciding that he was not going to enjoy meals on the land very much. 

“Is something wrong?” Erik asked.

Charles gestured to his mouth and sighed, putting his elbows on the table and resting his face in his hands.

“Not good?” Erik looked worried.

_ I don’t know. I didn’t taste it, _ Charles gave Erik a withering look. 

“Where did your tongue go?” Erik asked after a tense, quiet moment.

Charles sighed again and closed his eyes.  _ The serpent.  _

“Oh.” 

Charles nodded and opened his eyes. He carefully sipped more of the broth.  

“We’ll figure everything out. We have time to now,” Erik said, voice going from firm to excited. The spoon twitched on the table and Charles jumped, looking at it in surprise. He glanced to Erik curiously, raising his eyebrows. 

“That happens sometimes,” Erik explained lamely. 

_ Is that a power someone can have?  _ Charles asked. 

“I- yes,” Erik hesitated. “When I was younger, I used to be able to control anything made out of metal. I can’t anymore, but sometimes when I get angry…” he glanced at the spoon, “Or excited, little things happen.”

_ Where did the power go? _ Charles asked.

“I don’t know,” Erik spat, his mind going cloudy and pushing Charles out. Charles realized that he was hiding something about his powers, but he was not going to press Erik now.

Charles yawned, a sudden wave of exhaustion crashing over him.

_ Can I go back to the bed? _ He asked.

“Of course,” Erik replied, jumping up to bring the wheelchair closer. Charles stood and walked the two steps toward it, collapsing into the seat when his legs could not support him any longer.

They returned to the room in silence, Charles looking longingly out the window. 

“We can go to the shore tomorrow if you want,” Erik said, following Charles’ gaze. 

_ I would like that. We could swim _ , Charles suggested. 

“We could,” Erik agreed.

They passed the last room before Charles’. 

“That’s my room. I’m next door if you ever need me at night,” Erik said quietly. Charles nodded his acknowledgment. They turned into the next room and Erik parked the wheelchair next to the bed, watching as Charles hobbled into bed. 

Charles pulled the covers over his legs, noting that the weight of the blankets settling on his legs did not hurt the same way that walking did. He rolled onto his side, locking eyes with Erik, who swallowed uncomfortably and sat down.

“When your tail turned into legs, all of the scales fell off,” Erik broke the silence. “I, um, saw them all fall into the water.” He reached into his pocket and pulled one out, placing the shimmering blue scale onto a table next to the bed. 

“They match your eyes,” Erik mumbled. “Did you know that?”

Charles shook his head, reaching out to grab it. The scale sat in the middle of his palm. It was lightweight, warm from being in Erik’s pocket. Charles put it back on the table. A moment later, he slipped the ring from his finger and placed it next to the scale. 

His mind went quiet, all of the voices whispering in the back of his mind shutting up. 

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Erik said, closing the door softly behind him.

Charles closed his eyes, and dreamed of the sea, the waves crashing on the shore the same color as Erik’s eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some minor violence/gore occurs at the end of the chapter.

Charles was woken by his door slamming open in the morning and two people he did not recognize rushing in, followed by Erik, who was still buttoning his shirt. 

“Is this the siren?” One of the people asked Erik, turning his back to Charles.

“Yes, father,” Erik replied, finishing buttoning his shirt and smoothing the front.

“The one who killed dozens of sailors?” the man demanded. 

Charles sat up and reached for the ring, slipping it on. He leaned back on the mattress as the angry mind standing next to him suddenly overwhelmed his brain with its presence. He squeezed his eyes shut, focusing on ignoring it.

“I mean, it was animal instinct,” Erik protested. “Besides, he saved me.”

“Jakob, he did save our son,” The woman pressed a hand to the man’s arm. 

“Probably just because Erik is the prince,” the man replied, glaring at Charles over his shoulder. Charles sank into the bed, pulling the sheets up higher. He shook his head at the man’s back. He had not saved Erik because he was the prince. He had saved Erik because he was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. There was a difference.

The man- Jakob- turned to look Charles over and wrinkled his nose. Charles looked back at him, taking in the same flowing clothes that Erik favored wearing on the island and the small gold circlet he wore on his head.

“He doesn’t look like someone who killed all those sailors,” Jakob muttered, turning his back to Charles again.

“That’s because he’s a human now. You saw that when I brought him in a few days ago,” Erik said. 

“What if that animal instinct takes over again and he starts killing people and eating them?” 

“He’s not going to do that,” Erik said tiredly. 

“How do you know?” Jakob asked, almost looming over Erik but not quite making it because Erik was taller.

“He told me,” Erik said, squaring his shoulders and facing his father.

“Why hasn’t he said anything to defend himself, then?” Jakob faced Charles again.

_ Because I cannot say anything out loud, _ Charles thought hesitantly, softly pushing it out to the people in the room. 

“That’ll do it,” the woman said, a faint smile crossing her face as she faced Charles. “I’m sorry we’ve cut you out of the conversation thus far.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m Edie, Erik’s mother. I apologize for my husband, but Jakob is naturally concerned for the safety of his people. Our people. We do take your presence very seriously here.”

_ Hello, _ Charles murmured.

“Edie, that’s not proper,” Jakob interrupted her. Edie waved him off, still smiling gently at Charles.

“For my husband’s sake, you’re not planning on eating anyone while you’re here right?” 

Charles shook his head.  _ Even if I tried, I would not be able to, _ he replied.

“I didn’t think so,” Edie looked over her shoulder to Jakob. “This is an entirely different creature than the one that drowned those men.”

“He is,” Erik added, appearing next to Charles’ side. Charles resisted the urge to lean into Erik, soaking up the other man’s warmth.

“Of course he is,” Edie agreed, her gaze never leaving Charles’ face. “You two leave, I want to talk with Erik’s siren by myself for a few moments.”

After a long moment of Edie looking meaningfully at Jakob, the king grabbed Erik’s arm and left them, dragging his grumbling son behind him. As the door closed, Edie looked back at Charles.

“Forgive me, Erik mentioned your name but I can’t for the life of me remember what it is,” Edie stood, walking a few feet to look out the window. 

_ Charles _ , Charles thought, deciding that he rather liked Edie.

“Yes, that’s it,” she replied, turning her back to the window. The sunlight from outside draped across her shoulders, framing her simple blue dress in gold. “Charles, will you tell me how you’ve come to be in our guest room?”

_ It is a long story, and I do not know if I know enough of your language to tell it _ , Charles replied. 

“Do your best, then,” Edie encouraged, walking back to the bed to sit in the chair placed next to it. 

Charles nodded, putting one hand to his head as if that would help him focus his memories, before sharing them one by one with Edie. She closed her eyes, accepting each one, growing pale as Charles quickly skipped through the highlights of the cave. Within a few moments, she was caught up and her eyes flew open, looking at right at Charles.

“Well, if I didn’t think you loved my boy before, there’s no doubt now,” She sighed. “He knows that you did all of this for him?”

Charles nodded.

“My son… is not always the most perceptive. Sometimes it’s like talking to stone. He doesn’t realize what’s right in front of him until it’s too late,” Edie said. “He doesn’t know how he feels about you. But I promise that your actions are not in vain. He will realize.”

Charles nodded again.

_ How do you know? _ Charles asked.

“I raised him,” Edie laughed. “Nobody knows him better, but perhaps you will someday.”

_ There are some lands where men are not allowed to love men,  _ Charles replied.  _ I have heard the sailors talking about it as they go by. Is this one of those lands? _

“Genosha isn’t quite like the other lands,” Edie replied, glancing out the window. “She’s always been a land where peace is encouraged and happiness is something to believe in. If we are not happy with ourselves, how can we be happy with others? Some lands do not believe in it, you’re right, but it’s never caused any problems here, so why stop people from loving who they love?”

_ That makes sense. _

“Mutations are similar. People have no control over whether or not they develop powers, so who are we to squabble over them? Genosha is a safe haven where people are welcome to develop their powers in peace.”

_ Erik said he used to have powers,  _ Charles thought.

“He did. He lost his powers when he was twelve. Says they just disappeared overnight. I don’t know how true that is. I’ve always suspected that he wasn’t entirely honest about it. You’ll have to pry the details from him. May I ask about your mutation?” Edie answered Charles.

Charles nodded.

“When did you develop telepathy?” Edie asked, open curiosity written on her face.

_ It is only when I wear this ring.  _ Charles held up his hand, the small gold band glinting in the sunlight.  _ It is from the sea. It has magic in it that gives whoever wears it a certain power they were not able to access before.  _

Edie’s eyes widened and she looked at the ring. 

“May I see it? I’ll return it, I only want to look at it,” she reached out one hand, gaze fixed on the ring. 

Charles nodded and slipped it off, the calming hum in the back of his mind disappearing. He hadn’t realized how pleasant Edie’s presence was.

Edie looked at the ring for a long moment, turning it over and handing it back to Charles.

“It’s just like the old myths my mother used to tell me,” she murmured, still looking at the ring. 

Charles titled his head at her, silently asking her to elaborate. Edie sighed.

“There’s an old legend, I don’t remember all of the details. I’d all but forgotten about it. Let me try to remember,” Edie closed her eyes and leaned her head back. “There was a merman, or maybe a siren, I’m not sure. He kidnapped someone and made him or her change him into a human. Then when he was a human, he went on the land to try and impress a woman, but she was not impressed with him or the power he had. I don’t remember what his mutation was, but I think it had something to do with energy. He could take energy from anyone. But when he was turned down by the woman, he killed her and went back to the sea.”

Charles stared out the window opposite his bed, looking at the waves sparkling in the sun. Everything Edie was saying lined up with what the serpent had said in the cave.

_ It is real. The serpent, the one who changed me, he is the one from the legend _ . Charles thought immediately.

“You’ve put yourself in dangerous company, then,” Edie stood. “Why don’t you get dressed, I’ve had someone put clothes in the closet for you. Then you can join us for breakfast and tell my husband this. We’ll be waiting.”

*

Edie turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Erik and Jakob were waiting for her.

“Well?” Jakob asked. 

“We talked,” Edie replied. “And I’ve invited him to join us for breakfast.”

She began to walk toward the dining room. 

Erik and Jakob looked at each other before following. 

“Erik, we need to talk privately for a moment,” Edie said, stopping suddenly and pulling her son into the library. “I know you love that boy.”

“What?” Erik asked intelligently. 

“You think I didn’t hear you talking to him every night for weeks and weeks?” Edie demanded. 

“How’d you know that it was Charles?” Erik asked.

“It wasn’t hard to put two and two together. You only jumped off the cliff out back to rescue him,” Edie said, rolling her eyes. “I just want you to think about everything Charles has put himself through in the past week to be in the same place as you.” 

With that, she stepped around Erik and left the library, walking gracefully down the hallway, leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind that she was in charge.

Erik blinked a few times, trying to figure out what his mother meant before shrugging and ambling out of the library behind her.

*

Charles slipped out of the sheets and sat up. He shifted, swinging his legs over the bed to place his feet on the floor. It was cool, a pleasant contrast to the hot pain already dancing across the bottoms of his feet.

He took a deep breath through his nose and closed his eyes, steeling himself for the pain that standing up would bring. With a soft grunt, Charles pushed himself up and staggered to the closet Edie had indicated, hanging onto the door while he pulled out a pair of pants and the same plain shirt everyone seemed to favor on the island.

He staggered back to the bed and sat down, changing into the clothes. He stared at the door biting his lip contemplatively. The wheelchair from the night before was nowhere to be found. Charles suspected someone had moved it. He did not know where it was, so he had to walk.

It would not be pleasant and he knew it. 

Charles stood, forcing himself out of the room and down the hallway. It seemed longer than he remembered, his bare feet slapping the floor in an odd pattern as he hesitated before each step. 

He leaned heavily on the wall as he stumbled into the dining room, not surprised to see Erik and his parents waiting. Erik frowned, looking behind Charles.

“Where is the wheelchair?” Erik asked Charles.

_ I do not know where it is,  _ He replied. Erik’s frown deepened.

“I’ll get it before we go anywhere else,” Erik promised.

The room was quiet as Charles took a seat next to Erik, watching his parents for any reaction.

“I’ll go grab breakfast,” Erik broke the silence as he stood and disappeared into the kitchen. 

It fell quiet again. Charles looked from Edie to Jakob. 

“We’ve given the servants a weekend off, we don’t need them all the time,” Edie said, unfolding a napkin and laying it in her lap. Charles mimicked her actions.

“You don’t like having them around at all,” Jakob murmured.

“If I can do everything myself, why do we need help?” Edie asked him.  

“Why did you lose your tongue when you turned into a human?” Jakob asked Charles, changing the subject.

_ I am a siren, I sing people to death. When the serpent did the spell that changed me, he required a sacrifice. I gave up my voice because I did not want to hurt Erik or anyone else I encountered, _ Charles replied. Jakob went stony faced.

“I suppose I respect that,” He replied gruffly, clearing his throat.

Erik shouldered the door open, re-entering the room with a silver tray laden with bowls. He put the tray down and distributed the bowls to everyone before he took his seat next to Charles. 

Charles looked into his bowl, staring in confusion at the whitish goop in his bowl. 

_ What is this? _ He asked Erik.

_ It’s oatmeal _ , Erik thought back. Charles’ eyes widened. 

_ How are you doing that? _

_ You’re not the only one on the island with that power. I’ve met some people who taught me a thing or two,  _ Erik replied, dipping his spoon into his bowl and taking a bite. Charles watched Erik’s actions and mirrored them, carefully eating his breakfast.

“So, Charles,” Edie said between bites of her oatmeal. “Your name sounds like an island name. How did you get yours?”

_ A human named me.  _

“Really?” Edie asked, putting her spoon down and looking at Charles curiously. Charles nodded. 

“And that didn’t sway you from eating other humans?” Jakob asked.

_ When I eat, I am not myself. I believe you call it animal instinct. Whenever I was eating, that was in control. But I do not quite think I am an animal anymore.  _ Charles sighed internally, deliberately putting thoughts of hunting down prey out of his head. He could not do that here. 

“What would happen if you turned back into a fish?” Jakob asked next.

_ I think the animal instinct would take over again. I was a predator in the sea, _ Charles responded, shrinking into his seat under Jakob’s gaze.

“Tell us about the human that named you,” Edie cut him off, looking at Charles. 

_ I was very young. It was a long time ago. A century or two at least. I became tangled in a fishing net and I could not escape. An old woman found me and cut me free. _

Charles thought back, closing his eyes for a moment as he remembered the woman who had saved him. He had been a baby, really, tangled in a net so much bigger than he was. He was confused and hurt, with no idea how to get out of his situation. 

Then the woman had appeared, singing something unfamiliar in a soothing voice. She had stroked his hair out of his face, weathered hands gentle as she pulled out a knife and cut Charles free. The whole time she had looked at him.

“You look like a Charles,” She had said. Charles did not know what she was saying at the time, but as she repeated the name again and again, he had felt a sort of kinship with it. 

He had decided to keep the name for himself when he was freed.

Then, when he was free, he had drowned and eaten her. It was not his brightest moment, but he’d been trapped in the net and was starving. 

“If that woman named you, surely you suppressed your animal instinct then?” Jakob asked, interrupting Charles’ memories.

Charles shook his head.

“You ate her,” Jakob realized. 

_ I was a baby, I did not know,  _ Charles protested.

“I don’t understand,” Jakob rubbed his face. 

“Like you don’t become someone else when you’re hungry or angry?” Edie asked Jakob, laying a hand on his arm. “The boy is human now. While that does not forgive the deaths, he is totally incapable of harming anyone. He can barely even walk.”

“Really?” Jakob asked, looking from Edie to Charles.

_ The serpent, the one who changed me, said it is like walking on blades. It is the pain of being human and not having a tail,  _ Charles supplied.

“Well,” Jakob straightened in his seat. “That seems an appropriate punishment.”

“What?” Erik asked, joining the conversation now that his food was gone.

“If this animal instinct of his is totally gone and moving hurts him, I don’t have to consider this boy a threat to my people,” Jakob said. 

“He stopped being a threat the second he grew a pair of legs,” Edie confirmed.

“He was never a threat!” Erik argued. Charles looked at him, trying to figure out when Erik had pushed their chairs closer together. 

_ Yes, I was,  _ Charles reached out and laid one hand on Erik’s arm.  _ You are the only person I never drowned. But I can’t do any of that while my body is like this.  _

“See, he admits to the fact that he  _ was _ a threat,” Jakob said, his smug tone biting Charles’ ears. 

_ Was a threat,  _ Charles agreed.  _ I promise I am not going to hurt anyone. I have no intention to anymore. Whatever it was, animal instinct or not, is truly gone from this body,  _ Charles frowned a little. His human body was decidedly different than his siren body. He couldn’t figure out if he liked it or not.

“He can stay, then,” Jakob decided. “But I’m still not sure that I like it.”

“Was he going to leave?” Erik asked, horror written on his face. 

“There was a discussion about whether or not it would be dangerous for Charles to stay,” Edie explained. “In your enthusiasm for bringing him here Erik, you forget that we saw you bringing in a dangerous animal. We needed to confirm for ourselves that he would not pose any problems for anyone on the island.” 

“I-” Erik started, then swallowed, realization dawning as he figured out what his parents were talking about. “I guess that makes sense.”

“Of course it does. When you inherit the throne, you need to consider the lives of everyone living on Genosha, not just those who are close to you,” Jakob replied. 

“There might still be danger,” Edie interrupted.

“You’re kidding me,” Jakob protested. 

“Charles is here because he made a deal with something that I thought was only a legend. It could become dangerous in time,” Edie said. 

_ I did not do anything that would anger the serpent, though,  _ Charles argued.

“No, you didn’t,” Edie agreed. “But I have found out today that what I thought was a legend is in fact the truth, and so I do not want to be caught unprepared if something does happen.”

_ The serpent is a weak, old creature. It cannot possibly attack,  _ Charles replied.

“If that thing used magic, I’m willing to bet that anything is possible.” Edie said solemnly. 

Charles nodded. She had a point.

“Well, I suppose we can keep an eye on the ocean,” Jakob grumbled. “Is there any way to know if this serpent thing is coming?” 

Charles shrugged.  _ I do not know. _

“Fantastic,” Jakob muttered, standing and offering an arm to Edie. She took it and they walked toward the door, stopping as Jakob looked over his shoulder at Charles and Erik still at the table. “We have meetings for the rest of the day. Erik, make sure he doesn’t get up to anything bad.”

*

“Why do you have so much faith in the siren?” Jakob asked Edie as they walked down the hallway. 

“Charles went through hell to turn himself into a human. He showed me. And all of it was for Erik,” She replied.

“For Erik?” Jakob echoed, raising his eyebrows.

“He loves our son, Jakob,” Edie said quietly. 

“Oh boy,” Jakob exhaled.

“Erik loves him too, but he’s been a bit slower about figuring it out,” Edie added.

“ _ Oh boy _ ,” Jakob said again, sighing heavily and shaking his head.

*

Back in the dining room Charles crossed his arms, annoyed.

_ What in the world can I get up to?  _

“I don’t know,” Erik shrugged, grabbing the empty bowls and bringing them to the kitchen. He returned a moment later, hovering over Charles. “We should do something. So you can see the island.”

_ Okay,  _ Charles agreed.  _ Where are we going to go? _

“I don’t know,” Erik said again. “Maybe somewhere where you don’t have to walk. We could go out on my boat.”

As Erik talked about water, a small sensation tugged at Charles’ gut, as if a rope were trying to pull him out to sea. 

_ Swimming, _ Charles decided.  _ We should do that. _ He stood, palms pressed flat against the table as he adjusted to standing upright. 

Suddenly, a warm presence pressed to his side and Erik was holding Charles up. 

_ Thank you,  _ Charles sagged against Erik, letting the other man hold his weight. 

“You don’t have to walk if it’s too painful. Don’t hurt yourself,” Erik said softly, brow furrowing as he watched Charles plop back into the chair. 

Charles put his head in his hands. 

_ I do not like this,  _ he groaned mentally. 

“It looks unpleasant,” Erik said helpfully. “I’ll go get the wheelchair again.”

Charles nodded, closing his eyes and sighing. 

He sat up when Erik entered the room and took the shaky three steps to the wheelchair, pulling his legs into his chest and wrapping his arms around them. 

_ Where are we going to go? _ Charles asked, looking over his shoulder at Erik as they left the dining room.

“There’s a river that cuts through part of the island, and on the edge of the river there’s a lagoon. It’s close to the castle and you can reach it in a boat. Nobody ever goes there, so it will be quiet,” Erik replied. “It’s one of my favorite parts of the island.”

Charles tilted his head, looking at Erik. He studied the other man’s face as they traveled through the palace. Though, as much as he tried to examine Erik’s face, he kept getting distracted. 

Outside, the sun reflected off the sea, casting intricate dancing shadows on the walls as the light filtered inside. People walked by the palace, chattering about things Charles did not understand, but wanted to. He kept looking out the window, searching for a glimpse of other people, and when he did he saw that they all dressed similarly in light clothes that fit how hot the island was. His sea had been warm, but Charles was surprised to find that the air outside the sea was even warmer than he had expected. He was not sure yet if it was pleasant or overwhelming. 

Finally they reached a side door and Erik stopped.

“Do you mind walking a little bit? It wouldn’t be for long,” Erik asked, stepping out from behind the wheelchair to look at Charles in concern. “If it’s going to hurt too much we’ll figure something out.”

Charles unfolded himself and stood up, squeezing his eyes shut as he moved.

_ I can do it, _ he insisted. 

“Here,” Erik said, offering his arm to Charles in the same way his father had offered his arm to Edie.

Charles gratefully took it, leaning on Erik as they snuck out the side of the palace and walked down a hill to a small dock.

“That’s my boat,” Erik said, pointing to a small, plain rowboat that was tied to the end of the dock. They stopped at the end of the dock and Erik let go of Charles’ arm to step down into his boat. Charles sat down, stretching his feet to try and dip them in the water. He had not covered them the way Erik had. He could not quite touch the water, but seeing it again was enough to make him feel giddy. 

He looked from the water to Erik, who was looking back at him with a strange expression on his face.

_ What-is-he-doing-he-doesn’t-have-shoes-why-do-I-like-that-it’s-almost-endearing-oh-no-he’s-looking-at-me- _

Charles realized he was hearing Erik’s thoughts and withdrew quickly. He searched Erik’s expression for any change, any sign that he realized that Charles had been reading his thoughts. If he knew, Erik’s face did not change. 

“Do you want help?” Erik asked, extending one hand to Charles. 

Charles wanted to say no, to get into the boat by himself, but he nodded and took Erik’s offered hand anyway, stepping into the boat and collapsing on the bench when his legs gave out.

He glowered at his legs while Erik untied the boat. Charles did not like how powerless and weak he was as a human. The only thing that made up for it was the way Erik looked at him when he thought Charles was not looking. 

They were quiet while Erik focused on rowing away from the dock, heading towards a narrow stream dotted with trees. As they passed into them, Charles shivered, not realizing how warm out it was until he was in the shade. 

Charles slipped off the bench, sitting down on the floor of the boat so he could lean his back against the side and stare at the island.

_ This is a beautiful place, _ he thought, glancing to Erik, who nodded.

“People come from all over the known world just to see Genosha’s beauty,” Erik replied. “That and nobody believes that here, we can live in peace without fighting each other.”

_ Edie said that your island is a safe haven for people. _

“She’s right. My mother thinks that we can maintain peace for generations,” Erik agreed.

_ What happens if someone attacks? _

“My parents wouldn’t fight back,” Erik said, sounding hesitant.

_ What would you do? _ Charles asked.

“I’d want to fight. Nobody should make a fool of this land,” Erik said, gritting his teeth. 

Charles bit his lip, considering what Erik had said. He did not understand most of it, but he thought Erik seemed angrier than his parents were.

Charles did not want anyone to attack Genosha. He had spent centuries watching fighting destroy entire islands. He had seen too many cities burn to the ground and had always had to migrate away to a new land so he could find new prey. 

They lapsed back into silence and Erik continued rowing, pulling the boat deeper into the trees. Finally, he looked over his shoulder, turning back to Charles with a small smile on his face. Erik turned the boat, redirecting them into a small outlet Charles had not even noticed. 

“This is the lagoon,” Erik said. Charles straightened and looked around, taking in the trees that seemed to surround them from every angle, with thousands of green arms protecting them from anyone else seeing them.

He reached out to touch the arm that was closest to the boat. Erik smiled, watching the awe on Charles’ face.

_ What is this? _ Charles asked, holding the arm.

“It’s a weeping willow. It’s a kind of tree,” Erik said. “The branches can kind of get in the way, but I think that’s part of the beauty.” 

Charles looked at the arm ( _ branch _ , he corrected himself) in his hand. 

_ I like these. There are none of these in the sea, _ he decided. Erik laughed. 

“No trees at all?” He asked. Charles shook his head.

_ Do they all look like this? _ He glanced at Erik curiously, who shook his head.

“There are different trees all over the island. You’ll see them,” Erik promised Charles’ delighted expression. 

Maybe being a human was not all that bad if he got to see trees, Charles decided. The trees were okay.

“Charles,” Erik said quietly, interrupting Charles’ thoughts. “I have a question for you.”

Charles looked at Erik curiously, eyebrows raised. 

“When you turned into a human, what was it like? Did it hurt?” Erik asked, looking away like he didn’t want to know the answer. 

_ Do you really want to know? _ Charles asked. 

“I- yeah,” Erik hesitated before nodding, glancing at Charles quickly before looking away again.

_ Why are you not looking at me? _ Charles asked curiously. Erik looked back at Charles and put one hand on the back of his neck, rubbing it awkwardly. 

“Something my mother said before breakfast, I-” He hesitated. “She said that you went through a lot to be here.”

_ I did, _ Charles confirmed.

“What was it like?” Erik asked.

Charles inhaled slowly through his nose and looked contemplatively at Erik.  _ I can show you, if you would like. _

“You could,” Erik agreed. Charles thought Erik looked nervous about the idea of reliving his memories. 

Charles put two fingers to his temple to focus himself and started at the beginning. 

He watched Erik’s eyes widen as he saw himself being rescued through Charles’ eyes, as Charles propelled himself through the water to grab Erik’s unconscious form. 

He listened to Erik’s quiet gasp when Charles replayed the memory of his conversation with the serpent.

He closed his eyes and skipped over the process of the spell, not wanting to relive it or make Erik feel the pain that he had felt. 

When he got to climbing on the rock while the scales fell off his tail, Erik put a hand on his arm. Charles opened his eyes and looked at Erik.

“I’m pretty sure I know the rest,” Erik’s voice was hoarse. “You skipped over the worst part?”

_ It was not pleasant, _ Charles admitted, wondering why Erik sounded familiar with the pain.  _ I do not want to think about it. _

“Damn,” Erik said, clearing his throat. “That’s, um, was that the serpent?”

Charles nodded and Erik swallowed, shifting in his seat. 

“And that thing is really powerful?” Erik asked, going pale.

Charles nodded again. Erik glanced at the water. 

“I’ve met the serpent,” he said, looking from Charles to some distant spot over Charles’ shoulder. “I don’t want that thing coming here.”

_ The serpent is not going to come here. It has no reason to, _ Charles looked worriedly at Erik.  _ How did you meet it? _

Erik sucked in a deep breath. “That monster took my powers away from me.” 

Charles frowned. 

_ It took your powers? _

“It took my powers,” Erik growled. “I didn’t give them away willingly. It tricked me.”

_ How? _ Charles asked, reaching out to Erik and laying one hand on the other man’s forearm. 

“When I was twelve, my powers manifested and I found out I was a mutant,” Erik started, still avoiding looking at Charles. “Then I went sailing for my birthday. There was a storm, like the one you saved me from. But nobody saved me then and the ship went down. I tried to jump off and I hit part of the side of the ship while I was falling. I don’t know how or what I did but I broke something in my back and when I hit the water I couldn’t swim and there was no metal near me.” 

Erik paused for a moment to rub his face with his hands before continuing, knocking Charles’ arm away.

“It was terrifying. I knew I was drowning but there was nothing I could do because I couldn’t feel my legs. Then the serpent appeared. It rescued me and told me that it could fix my legs and that I would survive and be fine but it never told me that I had to sacrifice something. But I didn’t know. I didn’t,” he took a shuddering breath. “So I said yes because I didn’t want to drown and it hurt so much that I blacked out but when I woke up I was on the beach and I could feel the sand between my toes and my powers were gone.”

Charles sat frozen in place, processing everything Erik had just said. Erik was familiar with the pain because he had felt the pain too. They had gone through the same thing. Charles suddenly had a much stronger respect for Erik. He had not thought that it was possible for him to love the other man more.

“I hated it at first,” Erik continued. “I used to wonder if I had it in me to go into the sea again, to find the serpent and demand that it give me my powers back. But I moved on instead. I didn’t have the powers for very long.”

Charles nodded, but could not help overhearing Erik’s last thought.

_ I’ve gotten pretty good at pretending I don’t miss them. _

Charles was quiet for a long moment. 

_ Erik? _

“Yeah?” Erik finally looked back at Charles, expression too solemn. He looked tired, Charles thought. As though reliving his own encounter with the serpent had taken a lot out of him.

_ Thank you for telling me this. All of it,  _ Charles hesitated a moment before reaching for Erik’s hands, clasping them in his own. 

“You’re the only one who knows,” Erik whispered, shaking his head. “I’d appreciate if you didn’t tell anyone.”

_ I will not,  _ Charles promised.  _ I think I have an idea.  _

“What is it?” Erik asked, visibly tensing. 

_ I want to try something, but I will not be able to talk to you if it works,  _ Charles started.  _ This charm came right from the serpent, and the purpose of the charm is to unlock a power that people already have within them, but they cannot use them. I am wondering if you put on the charm, if you will be able to use your powers again. _

Erik looked at the gold ring on Charles’ finger and raised his eyebrows.

“Do you really think that would work?” he asked.

_ I think it might if you try, _ Charles affirmed. He pulled his hands from Erik’s and slipped the ring from his finger, holding it out to Erik. 

“You’re sure?” Erik asked again. Charles nodded violently. 

“Okay,” he breathed, sliding the ring on his finger, holding his hand out in front of him. 

Nothing happened. Nothing happened for several moments. 

“I don’t feel any different,” Erik said, sounding disappointed. Charles looked around the boat for something made out of metal for Erik. Finding nothing, he frowned and looked at the other man.

“There isn’t any metal around here,” Erik realized. Charles nodded and glanced over the side of the boat, searching until he found the remains of a coin purse scattered on the bottom of the water. 

Without a second thought he stood and leapt off the boat, splashing into the water to get the purse. It was cold and refreshing, a curious contradiction to the warmth blooming in Charles’ chest as his heart beat out a steady rhythm of  _ home, home, home. _

He squinted, trying to see through the water that had gone murky as his entrance had stirred up whatever silt was lying on the bottom of the pond. Charles reached out, his fingers scraping across the bottom of the lagoon until he found the first coin, then another, and another. Holding them tightly, he turned and pushed to the surface of the water, breaking through the surface with a satisfied gasp.

Charles reached for the boat, draping his arms over the side while not making any effort to climb back in, letting his legs float in the water. His whole body felt a little bit lighter than it had, his muscles relaxing a little bit in the familiar setting. 

“What was that for?” Erik asked, looking at Charles in confusion. Charles smiled and held out one hand to Erik, palm full of old coins. 

“Oh. That makes sense,” Erik said, holding out his hand. Charles dumped the coins into them. 

“... Do you want to get back into the boat?” Erik asked, still looking at Charles. 

Charles thought about it for a moment and shook his head, wiggling his toes to feel the water circulating through them. He pointed to the coins in Erik’s palm, trying to encourage the other man to see if his powers would work.

Erik glanced at the coins in his palm and Charles watched excitedly as Erik furrowed his brow at them. Slowly, they lifted into the air, spinning in lazy circles. Charles smiled and pushed on the boat to try and get back in. 

“What?” Erik asked, concentration broken, leaning toward Charles as he pushed down on the boat. 

For a moment, the boat toppled precariously as it swung to an angle it should not have been able to be at, its momentum throwing Erik into the water next to Charles. Emptied, the boat righted itself, bobbing gently in the waves it had just made. 

Charles smiled as Erik surfaced next to him, spluttering and coughing.

“Thanks,” he said dryly, looking at Charles. Erik climbed back into the boat, turning to look at back. “You getting in?” 

Charles nodded and clambered into the boat, collapsing in a heap next to Erik. 

“Here,” Erik said, prying the ring from his finger and passing it Charles. “I kind of miss hearing your voice in my head.”

Charles smiled and put the ring back on. 

_ You are not mad at me for knocking you over?  _ He asked. Erik shook his head. 

“No, not really,” he replied, looking contemplatively at Charles. “Do sirens know what kissing is?”

Charles shook his head. 

_ What is it? _

“It’s something that people do when they really really like someone else. Like if they’re married or going to be married. It’s a way people show affection,” Erik explained. 

_ How do you do it? _ Charles asked. He definitely wanted to show affection. It was sort of the whole reason he was there. 

“Can I show you?” Erik asked quietly, sounding almost hesitant. Charles looked at Erik curiously and nodded. 

Erik surged forward, cupping Charles cheek with one hand and pressing his lips against Charles’. Charles’ eyes widened as he stared at Erik’s face so close to his. Erik’s eyes were closed, so Charles thought that he should close his too.

His eyes slipped shut and he focused on Erik’s lips on his. He decided that he liked kissing. He liked it a lot. Definitely one of the better parts of being a human. 

*

The serpent dreamed. 

Memories flickered behind its eyelids, of a young siren, confused and in love. The siren worked hard, learning the magic of the sea so that he could walk on the land and sweep the human off of her feet. He would take her back to the sea and make her his queen. He would be handsome and brave and powerful. He would keep them both young forever using a power he had not realized he possessed until he found that living things kept him youthful. The young siren cast the spell, never realizing what it had done to him, how he had ruined his appearance with the magic, how he had become gray and thin. When the young siren limped onto the beach in search of his love, the other humans screamed and ran. Even the one he loved could not look at him. The young siren realized he would never have what he wanted and killed his love, trudging back into the sea a monster. The young siren heard the legends about himself, about the  _ it _ that had come out of the sea. They gave it a name, calling it Shaw and a creature too ugly to be looked upon. The young siren embraced those legends, letting the sea change him to an it as it prolonged its life far beyond what was natural. The siren become the serpent. The serpent was a terror. 

The serpent woke. It had slept for days and days following the spell it had performed on the siren. After the siren left, the serpent had fallen to the floor of its cave, weakened by the power of the spell. Most of the scales had fallen from its tail and the serpent had been too tired to fix it. Instead, it floated off, skin falling from its body as it groaned and let go. Something began to feel wrong, but the serpent ignored the sensation in favor of rest.

Its rest was long but ineffective, and when the serpent had struggled up, dragging its body over the basin, it was exhausted once more. After several hours of quiet chanting, the scales had regrown on its tail and the skin was roughly patched back into place. It was not a permanent fix, but it would do until the serpent could trick an unassuming fish into its cave for a sacrifice. 

The serpent traced its hand over a stalagmite, drifting into the expanse of the cave. It rolled onto its back, rising through the cave, heading to the entrance. The sensation of something wrong tickled the edge of its thoughts. The ghosts reached out to him, each one pleading with him to be transformed into sea creatures again. 

The serpent reached out, lovingly stroking its fingers through each of its pets, checking to make sure all of its charms were secured underneath them. The nagging sensation grew in the pit of its stomach. When its fingers ghosted through nothingness, finding no charm secured beneath, the serpent froze. Its half-lidded eyes flew open and the serpent hissed as it realized that the charm had been stolen. The feeling of wrongdoing grew, solidifying as the serpent realized that it should not have ignored the feeling that something was wrong.

It turned, faster than it should have been able to for its age, and faced its pet, plunging its arm into the small hole that house the charm. The hole was empty. The serpent’s face contorted with rage. It flew back to the basin, scales falling from its tail as it swam.

The serpent snapped, grabbing its finger as it popped off and sticking it back into place. Azazel popped into existence by its side. The serpent whirled around and grabbed the fish, holding it inches from its face.

“Did we know of this betrayal?” it asked. The fish didn’t react. The serpent squeezed him until his eyes popped from his little red body.

“Did we know?” The serpent roared. The cave shook as the serpent’s yell echoed through the stalactites. Several detached from the ceiling and crashed to the ground.

Azazel stared at the serpent. 

“BETRAYAL,” the serpent realized. With another roar, it smashed Azazel into the basin, breaking his neck. 

The serpent muttered under its breath, watching the fish’s blood swirling to the bottom of the large bowl.

“Where is it?” it asked the basin. The pool rippled and changed, the blood turning into an image of Erik, inspecting the ring on his finger before handing it back to Charles.

The serpent roared, a wordless shriek of pure rage. It swam to its prisoners, retrieving each charm and bringing them back to the basin. The charms began to glow as the serpent hissed at them.

It would fix this betrayal. The siren was going to pay. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a lot of violence and gore. The notes at the end have some more specifics for any cautious readers.

After spending the majority of the day in the lagoon where Erik showed Charles some  _ very _ interesting things about kissing, the pair made their way back to the palace in the late afternoon when their stomachs started growling in unison. 

_ Erik? _ Charles glanced up at Erik as they slowly walked from the dock to the door. 

“Mm?” Erik glanced at Charles, who hung on his arm.

_ What you said about kissing before, does this mean that we are…. _ Charles trailed off, trying to remember the word for it.  _ Mates? _

“Mates?” Erik asked. “Sort of. It’s called a relationship on land though. Two people who are going to be together and love each other get married, usually.”

_ Are we married?  _ Charles asked.

“No, there’s a ceremony and things you have to say to each other with someone else watching so that it’s official,” Erik replied. He hesitated, opening and closing his mouth several times before finally mumbling, “But we could get married.”

_ I do not think the ceremony sounds very fun. Somebody has to watch us say things? _

“It’s more fun than I’m making it sound. People who love you, like your family and friends come watch and everyone is there to celebrate the relationship. It’s a big party with food and dancing.” Erik said, looking back to the palace. “Weddings are fun. When you get married, it’s called a wedding.”

Charles processed everything Erik had said. A wedding did sound fun. He wanted one. He wanted to do a wedding with Erik. 

In a subtle effort to get closer to Erik, Charles leaned heavily into the other man, practically throwing himself on top of him. Erik stumbled, tried to take another step, and toppled over, bringing Charles down with him.

“Are you okay?” Erik asked, sitting bolt upright as he looked over Charles. “You didn’t hurt yourself, right?”

Charles slowly sat up and shook his head, leaning against Erik. He wrapped his arms around the other man’s waist and held him tightly.

“This is nice, but we should go inside…” Erik tried to argue, squirming to get out of Charles’ grip. He fought it for a moment before giving up. “Or we could sit here and watch the sunset, that’s fine too.”

Charles smiled and put his head on Erik’s chest, getting comfortable to watch the sun dipping over the horizon. They stayed there, Charles watching the sun in sheer delight, eyes wide as he took it in. He hadn’t particularly cared about sunsets when he had a tail, there was no reason to. Now, he wanted to watch them every day, preferably in Erik’s arms. 

He wanted to do everything as long as Erik was there. 

Except walking. Charles was not a fan of that.

“We missed lunch and dinner, you know,” Erik said after the sky had turned purple. “I’m starving.”

Charles’ stomach rumbled in response. He looked at it, poking his middle. Things were so much easier when he could just grab a fish whenever and swallow it whole.

_ I am hungry too, _ He decided.

“There’s probably something in the kitchen,” Erik said, untangling himself from Charles and getting to his feet. “I can make something if I have to.” He extended a hand to Charles, helping him up. Charles leaned on Erik as they made their way inside. 

Thankfully, the wheelchair was where Erik had left it, and Charles sank into it gratefully. Erik moved behind Charles, getting ready to push him to the kitchen. 

_ I think I can do that myself, _ Charles stopped Erik.  _ You do not have to push me everywhere. _

“Okay,” Erik agreed, taking the two steps to stand next to Charles. Charles pushed himself forward, swerving all over the hallway until he figured out how to steer. Once he figured it out, Erik fell into place next to him as they made their way toward the kitchen.

“What do you want to eat?” Erik asked absentmindedly. 

_ I do not think it makes a difference for me, _ Charles answered. 

“Soup,” Erik decided. 

Charles shrugged. He’d figure out what soup was when Erik gave him some.  _ Soup would do. _

“Food is kind of boring for you, isn’t it?” Erik realized as he pushed open the door to the kitchen and held it for Charles.

_ It is not very fun, _ Charles agreed. 

“Sorry about that,” Erik muttered as he wandered around for a bit, trying to find something for them. 

While Erik was in the pantry, Edie wandered into the kitchen. She glanced between Charles and Erik and nodded.

“How was your day, boys?” She asked casually, crossing her arms and leaning against the counter.

_ Good, _ Charles smiled.  _ We went to the lagoon. _

“Did we?” Edie verbally pounced, sliding her gaze to Erik’s back. “Erik’s favorite lagoon, the ‘no outside visitors allowed’ lagoon? The ‘I swear, mom, I’m never taking anyone to that lagoon ever except when I’m going to propose to my future wife’ lagoon? ”

“I never said future wife,” Erik said, turning around to look at his mother, face beet red. 

“You did when you were four, before I realized you didn’t know better,” Edie assured, putting a hand on her chest to stifle her laughter. “ _ That _ lagoon?”

“Yes,” Erik bit, turning away. Charles looked back and forth between the two in confusion.

_ I do not understand what is happening, _ He joined the conversation.

“Oh, don’t worry Charles. Erik’s always been very protective of that particular spot. He doesn’t like it when other people go there is all. He once threatened to run away from home if Jakob or myself tried to go in there, though I suspect we might have just found him there if he did,” Edie glanced at Charles. “So you had a very nice day, then?”

Charles nodded, not sure what Edie wanted him to say. 

“ _Mom!_ ” Erik yelled from the room with the food. “Stop doing what you’re doing.”  
“Relax, I’m only teasing,” She said. “Although I may have confused Charles. Are you alright?”

Charles thought about the question. 

_ I am all right, _ He finally answered.  _ But humans confuse me. _

“That’s okay, they confuse me too,” Edie replied. “I was just trying to see how Erik would react. If you ever have children, you’ll have fun embarrassing them in front of their friends, I promise.”

_ I will remember that,  _ Charles promised, flushing slightly. 

“Anyway, is the lagoon as beautiful as I remember it? I used to sneak over there with Jakob before we married,” Edie asked, looking from Erik to Charles.

Charles raised his hand to his head and tried to think of the clearest memory he had of the lagoon, seeking out Edie’s mind to share it with her. She gasped quietly. 

“It’s more beautiful. Of course it is, after I’m not allowed there anymore,” She sniffed dramatically. 

“How was your day mother?” Erik asked loudly, storming out of the food closet like he was angry. Charles thought Erik wanted Edie to stop talking but he wasn’t sure.

“Oh, you know, boring stuff. Running a country, telling your father how to do that, stopping him from making terrible decisions. Nothing fun,” Edie yawned. “Tell me more about  _ your _ day.”

“You always lecture me on that stuff so I’ll be a good leader,” Erik protested. “Why aren’t you doing that now?”

“You’re going to be a fine leader and I don’t want to bore Charles with politics right now,” Edie waved her hand. “Erik, you tell me how your day went.”

Erik hesitated, glancing to Charles.

“It was one of the best days I’ve had in a long time,” He muttered quietly, inching back toward the pantry. 

“That’s good,” Edie smiled. “I’m glad. Charles, did you have a nice day?”

Charles nodded, wondering what Edie was getting at. 

“What are you two going to do tomorrow?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Erik snapped, growing angry.

“I mean, it doesn’t get more special than what you did today, I’m trying to figure out how you’re going to one up yourself,” Edie replied, rolling her eyes. 

“Please leave us alone,” Erik begged, strained. Charles looked at him in confusion.

_ I do not understand what is happening,  _ Charles interrupted. _ Why is Erik’s face a different color? _

“I’m still teasing, Charles,” Edie replied with a laugh. “Trying to embarrass Erik.”

“Erik is very not pleased,” Erik spat, hands balling  into fists.

“Oh fine, fine, I see how it is, don’t want the old woman intruding on your time. That’s fine, I was young once too. I know what it’s like to be youthful and excited. I’ll see you boys tomorrow,” Edie sashayed out. 

_ I like your mother a lot _ , Charles informed Erik. Erik groaned and banged his head against the wall.

*

A week passed, so quickly that Charles hardly took notice of how quickly everything was moving. Every day, Erik had something for him and Charles to do. Together, they toured the island, Erik showing Charles all of his favorite spots. Charles dragged Erik to the beach so they could swim. Erik had been less than amused when Charles swam literal circles around him. Every day they found a secluded place and Charles handed his charm over, watching Erik’s powers grow stronger every time he put the ring on. They went to a new spot each day until rain forced them inside. 

They found themselves in the library on the eighth day, Erik trying to show Charles how to read. Thunder rumbled outside and Erik glanced out the window occasionally, sighing every time lightning streaked across the sky. 

_ What is it?  _ Charles asked, glancing out the window. 

“I can’t explain it, this storm is just weird,” Erik sighed, shaking his head and looking back at the book. “So anyway, those are all of the letters, and they make up every single word we speak in this language.”

Charles stared at the alphabet, frowning as he took it in. He liked stories, but wasn’t sure if he wanted to learn to read. It looked annoying. 

Thunder shook the windows and Erik jumped, leaping out of his seat to look out the window. 

“Um,” He said eloquently. Charles looked at Erik, leaning against the edge of the window. He stood and hobbled to the other man’s side, eyes widening as he took in the view. 

The sea churned, the tides disrupted as the water circled itself, creating a swirling vortex on the edge of the horizon. 

Charles gasped softly, stepping to the closest chair and collapsing into it. The ring burned his finger. 

_ That is the serpent. Nothing else is as powerful as it is.  _

“Well, shit,” Erik replied, stepping back from the window, his gaze still glued to the outside. “We need to tell my parents.”

Erik took off running, disappearing out of the library. He returned a moment later, wide eyes landing on Charles. 

“Come on,” he said urgently, nudging the wheelchair parked inside the door to Charles. “Nobody deserves to get hurt here if we can help it.”

Charles nodded, limping quickly across the room and getting into the chair, following Erik out. He had grown stronger after a week of pushing himself around, and keeping up with Erik’s natural pace was no longer a challenge. Of course, now Erik was running, and he was fast. 

Charles struggled to keep up, nearly falling over as he turned a corner too quickly in his attempt to match Erik’s pace. 

At last they burst into the throne room, walking by the empty thrones that Erik had told Charles were really more for decoration because his parents liked interacting with people instead of sitting above them. Erik finally slowed down, his hands on his knees as he panted for a moment and tried to catch his breath.

Edie appeared from the small room behind the thrones where she and Jakob worked. 

“What’s wrong?” She asked, looking from Erik to Charles. 

“Look out the window,” Erik replied between heaving breaths. Edie raised her eyebrows and crossed the room, looking out at the storm. 

“Oh dear,” she said a moment later, bracing one arm against the window as she peered out. “That’s quite the storm.”

_ It is the serpent. It has to be, _ Charles worried. Edie whirled, looking carefully at Charles.

“Are you positive?” She asked, tone completely even. Charles nodded. Edie nodded once in return and looked at Erik. 

“Go sound the hurricane alarm. People need to get into shelters immediately,” She ordered. Erik nodded and ran from the room. Edie raised her voice, calling to the back room, her gaze never leaving Charles’ face. “Jakob, get out here.”

Jakob appeared a moment later, scratching his beard. 

“What is it?” He asked, casting a single, indifferent glance in Charles’ direction. Charles figured it was the closest he’d ever get to approval from him. 

“We have company,” Edie gestured to the window. “We’re going to be attacked.”

“Who dares attack Genosha?” Jakob roared, looking out the window.

“Something much older and powerful than most nations,” Edie replied. “Erik is sounding the hurricane alarm now, but we need to get people ready to fight.”

“You met that thing, how do you defeat it?” Jakob whirled around to glare at Charles.

_ I… I do not know,  _ Charles replied. 

“Right,” Jakob said, looking to Edie. “Get the cannons ready.” 

Edie looked at him for a long moment before nodding and leaving the room. Charles watched the exchange, holding his breath. Jakob turned to face him a moment later.

“Tell me everything you know about the serpent,” He demanded. Charles nodded, sharing the memory with him. Jakob’s face didn’t change, but Charles felt a wave of deep seated uneasiness wash over him and knew it wasn’t his own emotion. 

“That’s going to be a problem,” Jakob decided aloud. Charles nodded. “Come with me.” He left the throne room, Charles following close behind.

“Edie will be with the cannons, so we’re going to find her and then get to safety,” Jakob said, not looking over his shoulder at Charles as he talked. Charles wondered if a cannon would be able to defeat the siren. He wasn’t sure what they were. 

They ended up outside, the rain falling sideways as the wind pushed it into their faces. The vortex in the sea had moved closer, no longer sitting on the horizon. The water foamed, forming a white tunnel that shot up into the sky. 

At the top of the swirling tower of water sat the serpent, translucent skin glowing as it grinned in the distance. It had grown in size, and Charles thought the serpent was going to rip a hole in the sky as well.  

“BETRAYAL,” The serpent roared, its echoing voice shaking the walls of the palace behind Charles. It locked its gaze onto Charles. “WE HAVE BETRAYED THE SERPENT.”

It thrust its arm forward, and a large wave surged toward the castle. Lightning forked across the sky, freezing in place directly above Jakob. The lightning seemed to breathe for a moment, before getting bigger and bigger. The sky crackled with malicious intent. 

Charles pushed himself to his feet and launched himself at Jakob, pushing him out of the way seconds before the lightning struck the ground where they had been standing a moment before. Charles sat up, having landed next to the other man as they fell. 

“You saved my life,” Jakob spluttered, looking at Charles in surprise. He sat up and scrabbled backwards, away from the lightning. Charles followed suit, leaning against the wall as the wave washed over the beach, sucking the sand away with it.

_ I do not know why the serpent is so angry, I have not done anything to break our contract,  _ Charles shouted mentally to Jakob. 

“It’s not important now, what’s important is the safety of my people!” Jakob shouted back, the wind ripping the words from his mouth. Charles pressed himself against the wall as a loud  _ boom _ rang out. It didn’t sound like thunder, but he didn’t know what else it could be.

Something large hurtled by, a large black ball that sailed through the air and hit the water with an impressive splash. 

Jakob scrambled to his feet, looking around the corner of the wall.

“Fire the cannon again!” he yelled.

There was another boom, and another ball hurtled through the air, this one connecting with the serpent, knocking it back. When it faced the shore again, one arm was gone, water gushing from the wound. 

“THE SERPENT CANNOT BE KILLED,” the serpent roared, waving the remnants of its arm so that water sprayed out. 

_ The serpent absolutely can be killed,  _ Charles thought, stumbling around the corner to the cannons. He was absolutely unsurprised to find that Edie was standing behind the cannon, loading in another ball with a look of absolute determination on her face.

“Not my people!” she yelled, dragging Charles behind her as she set the thing off. The ball hurtled through the air, smashing through a wall of water and disappearing, making no impact whatsoever. The serpent growled, looking straight at Edie.

The hairs on the back of Charles’ neck prickled as the sky lit up again. 

_ Watch out! _ Charles yelled to Edie, trying to drag her away from the cannon, toward the wall of the palace. The lightning followed them, striking the wall above their heads and knocking them to the ground. The beams of wood splintered and crashed down all around them.

Charles sat up, dazed, and looked around for Edie. He wiped his hair out of his face, though the rain immediately pushed it back into his eyes. 

_ Edie? _ He asked, looking around. 

“I’m here,” she replied, the wind taking her voice. It was so soft that Charles nearly missed it. “Charles?”

Charles stood, looking around for Edie. A hand appeared from a pile of wood, waving him over. Charles approached cautiously, picking his way through the debris until he got to her side. Edie was trapped under most of the wood, unable to wriggle free. 

_ I will get help,  _ Charles said immediately, already looking for Jakob’s mind. He found nothing, and figured the blast had rendered him unconscious. Edie shook her head. 

“Not enough time,” she replied, grabbing Charles’ arm. “You need to listen to me right now.”

Charles nodded, confused. 

“Get that son of a bitch out of the water. That’s all that thing is using to fight. If you separate it from its element, I think you have a chance,” Edie sucked in a breath. “I believe in you and Erik. I think you can do it.”

Charles nodded again, frowning in worry. Something red trickled from her mouth. 

“You make Erik so happy, you know that?” She asked, trailing her arm that wasn’t pinned across her body down Charles’ cheek tenderly. “I used to worry that Erik would never be able to find what I have with Jakob until you came along. Treat him right, Charles. I’m glad to have met you. You two will be happy together.” 

Charles hesitantly raised one of his hands, pressing it on top of Edie’s. She smiled at him.

“Go. Get Erik. Defeat the serpent. I’ll be here when you get back,” She said, slipping her hand free and waving him away. Behind him, the beam shifted and Edie groaned, going quiet a moment later. 

Charles got up and looked around, trying to figure out where Erik was. Thankfully, the other man was heading toward him. Charles closed the distance, meeting him in the middle. 

_ Your mother told me how to defeat the serpent, _ Charles informed him immediately. 

“Where is she?” Erik asked, looking over Charles’ shoulder. Charles turned and pointed.

_ The side of the palace collapsed on her but she was just talking to me,  _ Charles replied. Erik’s eyes widened and he took off running. Charles followed as fast as he could, making sure he could see Erik the whole time. When he got to her side, Erik fell to his knees and took her hand, speaking quickly, voice growing louder when she didn’t respond. 

Charles reached out when he got closer, concern taking over when he couldn’t find her mind. It wasn’t until he was by Erik’s side that he realized her other arm hadn’t been pinned down, but that she was covering the piece of wood that had pierced her through the middle.

Next to him, Erik screamed. 

Time stopped for a moment, as Charles sank to the ground, looking at the beam that had cut Edie nearly in half. The rain pelted his face, mingling with the hot tears burning his eyes. Charles reached out, putting his hand on the side of Edie’s face just as she had to him moments before. 

Jakob stumbled around the corner, awake again, freezing when he saw Erik and Charles. The stunned expression on his face only lasted a moment before he had joined them, falling to his knees next to Erik.

“What happened?” He asked, voice thick, looking from Erik to Charles.

_ The serpent,  _ Charles replied, shaking,  _ lightning struck the palace and the beams fell on top of me and Edie.  _

“Did she say anything to you?” Jakob asked, gaze locking onto Charles, who nodded.

_ She told me how to defeat the serpent. To kill it. And- and she told me that she was glad that I make Erik as happy as you made her, _ Charles hesitated before adding the second part. Jakob coughed, choking back a sob. 

“You can defeat the serpent?” He asked.

Charles shook his head.

_ I cannot, _ he looked to Erik.  _ But Erik can. _

Two minutes later, Erik stood on the edge of the beach below the palace with Charles hovering at his side.

The serpent was close to the shore now. Charles could nearly see the organs working behind its skin. 

“Tell me what I’m doing one more time,” Erik said, looking up at the tower of water growing ever closer.

_ I am going to give you the charm and you are going to use all the metal you can find to pull the serpent out of the water and kill it. But I will not be able to help at all because I will not be able to talk to you. _

Erik nodded and took a deep breath. “Right.”

Charles slipped the ring off of his finger and held it out to Erik. Erik took it and put it on, taking another deep breath. Charles reached out, putting one comforting hand on Erik’s arm. 

Erik closed his eyes and raised his arms. 

The cannon flew over their heads, breaking apart in the air as Erik sent the pieces toward the serpent. The serpent absorbed them, as Charles had expected, but it seemed surprised when Erik closed his fists and dragged the serpent toward him.

The tunnel of water collapsed as the serpent was distracted and left flailing in the air. Erik growled and sent the serpent soaring over their heads, where it crashed to the land. Erik and Charles climbed up to the edge of the palace, finding the serpent splayed on the ground before them. 

“Did we think it would be that easy?” The serpent asked, slapping Erik with its tail and grabbing Charles’ ankle, pushing the three of them over the other side cliff, back into the water.

Charles’ breath was forced out of him as he slammed back first into the sea. He closed his eyes and tried to kick away from the serpent.

“We need to pay for our betrayal,” the serpent hissed in his ear, dragging him further away from the surface. Charles’ head swam as he tried desperately to hold in whatever air was in his lungs. 

Erik appeared, holding a cannon ball that he slammed into the serpent with his powers. Charles broke free, grabbing Erik’s arm and trying to swim to the surface. 

The serpent grabbed Charles’ ankle and held tight. Erik continued to swim upwards, still clutching Charles’ arm. Charles did not appreciate being torn in two at all. The lack of oxygen was really getting to him and he went limp, letting the serpent and Erik fight over him. 

Suddenly he was breaking the surface, taking huge, gasping breaths while Erik held him tightly. 

“I thought I was going to lose you,” Erik gasped. Charles shook his head and leaned into Erik. He pointed curiously at the water, looking up at Erik.

“I pushed the serpent away with the metal still in it,” he replied, dragging them to the rocks. Charles shook his head, knowing that the serpent would come back. He scrambled onto the rock he had climbed onto so many times before when he still had a tail, cutting his hand on something sharp as he got to safety. Erik followed suit, grabbing the thing that had cut Charles’ hand. 

“It’s a scale,” Erik said, holding out the shimmering blue scale to Charles. “One of yours.”

Charles looked at it in awe, dropping it into the water a moment later when the rain and blood from his hand made it impossible to hold. He nudged Erik, holding his hand out for the ring. 

Erik passed it over and Charles slipped it on.

_ How quickly can you get a boat out here? _

“Pretty quickly,” Erik replied. “What do you want to do?”

_ I want to get the serpent away from the island so nobody else dies.   _

“That’s-” Erik swallowed, “That’s a good plan.”

_ There’s a small island near here, if I can get the serpent onto land I might be able to kill it, _ Charles figured.

“Do you think you can do it?” Erik asked. Charles shook his head.

_ I might be able to slow it down, though. _

“You’re an idiot if you think I’m letting you face it alone,” Erik retorted.

_ You will be right behind me. We can do this. I am going to let the serpent take me next time it comes this way. If it wants me alive, it might stop at the island so I have a chance to catch my breath. It is that way,  _ Charles pointed in the direction of this island. 

“You don’t know that it will, though,” Erik argued. 

_ I do not,  _ Charles agreed.  _ But if it is going to protect Genosha, it will be worth it.  _

“I don’t want to lose you too,” Erik mumbled, leaning his head on Charles’ shoulder. “I can’t, I won’t be okay if that happens.”

_ Your mom, she said she was glad she met me… and that we would be happy together. _

“I want her back. I hate the serpent,” Erik replied. Charles nodded. 

_ I liked her a lot,  _ Charles agreed.  _ She was so welcoming. And she knew everything. _

“Yeah, I think she was secretly a mutant and her power was knowing everything all the time,” Erik smiled faintly before his face hardened with resolve. “I’m going to kill him.”

Charles nodded, slipping the ring off of his finger and passing it to Erik. He hugged Erik around the middle and they stayed there like that, enjoying their moment of peace in the driving rain while the serpent approached with murderous intent. 

A large wave splashed the rock, drenching their already soaked bodies. Charles took a deep breath and let himself be knocked back by the water as the serpent reached for him. 

The serpent dragged Charles away, making quick time heading away from the Genoshan shore. Charles struggled to keep his head above the water, breathing deeply when he could before he was inevitably dunked again. 

As the small island Charles had told Erik about came into view, Charles looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, a boat was following behind. Charles breathed a sigh of relief before he was dunked back under. 

The serpent practically threw him onto the island when they were close enough, 

“Where is the charm?” The serpent demanded, eyes flashing. “Return it!”

Charles shook his head and opened his arms wide, taking in the serpent’s appearance. It had shrunk back to normal size as they swam away from the island. It would be easier to defeat now, Charles thought. He glanced to the sea, a worried knot in his stomach loosening as he saw how close Erik was getting. 

“We don’t have it,” the serpent realized, looking Charles over. “Where is it?”

“I have it,” Erik yelled, sending a chain flying from the boat. It coiled around the serpent’s neck, dragging it onto the sand next to Charles. 

“We betrayed our deal,” the serpent turned to Erik, tugging on the chain around its neck. It slid partially into the water, slapping the surface with its tail so Erik’s boat capsized, sending him flying over the edge. Erik bobbed to the surface a moment later, clinging to a piece of broken wood. Charles realized belatedly that the ship hadn’t capsized, it had splintered and broken into pieces. Erik was swimming to the shore, one of the broken pieces holding him above the water.

Charles stood with a soft groan, reaching for the chain still wrapped around the serpent’s neck. He grabbed it, dragging the serpent fully out of the sea, ignoring the pain in his legs. It clawed at the chains, but Erik had done his job well, and there was no way for it to free itself.

Erik reached the shore, staggering tiredly to where Charles held the serpent captive. He still held the wooden beam in his hands. 

“We broke our deal,” The serpent grinned at Erik. 

“You killed my mother!” Erik roared back. “And that’s why I’m going to kill you.”

Without waiting for a response from the serpent, Erik yelled and plunged the piece of wood through the serpent’s midsection, pinning it to the sand.

The serpent gasped, curling around the stake. Thick blue blood poured out, soaking into the sand. It locked its gaze onto Erik and growled before exploding, a huge jet of water pouring from its chest and throwing Erik and Charles into the water. When Charles surfaced, all that was left behind was a skeleton. 

The serpent was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Violent/gory things in the chapter: two characters are pierced by beams which leads to canonical character death. People also get scratched and knocked unconscious.


	7. Chapter 7

Charles was exhausted. He wanted to go home and curl up next to Erik. He frowned, surprised at himself for thinking of Genosha as home. His home was the sea. Well, it had been the sea for centuries. Funny how priorities shifted so quickly when it came to love. 

Charles looked around for Erik, wondering where he was. He was distracted by a strange sensation in his mouth, as something large and obtrusive gagged him. His tongue was growing back. He ran his tongue over his teeth, drawing back when he realized they had become pointy again. His legs burned as they pulled together, pants falling away as his legs fused back into one no matter how hard he tried to pull them apart. Scales formed, crawling over his tail and hardening as they settled in place.

He put one hand out, starting to swim for Erik, when he realized his fingers were webbed again.

The spell had worn off when the serpent died. Charles needed to find Erik immediately. 

He dove under the water, searching for the other man, ignoring the sharp snap of his gills opening and how good it felt. Erik was several feet away, eyes closed as he sank quickly. Charles was reminded of the first night they met. He swam over, glad that his speed underwater had returned. 

Charles pulled Erik close, sliding one arm around his chest as he pulled Erik to the surface. He hauled the other man onto the beach, curling around him protectively while he waited for Erik to wake up. He draped his tail over Erik’s legs and slept, holding Erik close.

He woke when Erik woke and started fidgeting underneath him. The storm had cleared and the sun beat down on their intertwined bodies.

“Charles?” Erik asked groggily. Charles tightened his grip around Erik’s middle and did not lift his head from Erik’s chest. It was a good pillow. He liked pillows.

“Did we get the serpent?” Erik asked. Charles nodded, squeezing his eyes shut. He just wanted to sleep.

“Charles?” Erik asked next, his voice small. “You’re a fish again.”

Charles opened his eyes and looked at Erik, who was staring beyond Charles’s tail to his legs. 

“The spell broke,” He said softly. “When we killed the serpent?”

Charles nodded. 

“I can’t feel my legs,” Erik murmured, confirming for Charles that his own spell had worn off. 

Charles searched for Erik’s hand, nudging the ring curiously. Erik frowned, looking at the chains still on the beach. He took off the ring and squinted at the chains, smiling a little when the chains floated in the air, delicately curling around themselves.

“What good is that if I can’t move?” Erik asked, letting the chains drop back down. 

Charles shrugged. They could fix this. He knew they could. 

“Here,” Erik held the ring out to Charles. Charles held out his hand, letting it fall into his palm. He did not know how to put it on when his fingers were webbed. He slid it onto the very end of his finger, balancing the ring. 

Nothing happened.

Charles furrowed his brow.

Nothing happened.

He took the ring off and shook his head.

Erik groaned. “Back to yes and no questions?”

Charles nodded. 

“Great,” Erik sighed. “Can you swim back to Genosha and let my father know that I’m alive? I don’t think you should carry me all the way back. Maybe get me some food?”

Charles nodded.

“Do you have any idea if you can make yourself human?” Erik asked. Charles shrugged. He hoped so. Erik groaned. 

“You should go. Get some help out to me. I’ll explain everything to my father,” Erik decided. Charles nodded, cupping his hand against Erik’s face. 

“I’m glad you’re still alive,” Erik smiled, curling his fingers around Charles’ arm. “Even if you do have a tail right now.”

Charles rolled his eyes and slid away from Erik, throwing himself back into the waves. He could not deny that he had missed the way he slid through the water as his predatory instincts kicked back in. But now, he found, he missed Erik just a little bit more.

He sped back to Genosha, his usual speed thankfully restored. He popped up above the waves and looked at the damage the serpent had done. Most of it had already been cleaned up, the beams that had killed Edie swept away.

Jakob prowled along the beach, anxiously looking out to sea. When he saw Charles, he rushed into the surf.

“You’re alive,” He observed. Charles rose higher in the waves and nodded. 

“Is the serpent dead?” He asked. Charles nodded. Jakob sighed in relief. 

“That’s goo-” He started, pausing as he took in Charles’ appearance. “Are… Are you a siren again?” Jakob asked hesitantly, taking a step back. Charles sighed and nodded.

“What about Erik? Did he survive?” Jakob changed topics. Erik seemed to be his priority. That made sense to Charles. Charles nodded again and pointed to the small island in the distance. 

“He’s on that thing?” Jakob asked. “Why didn’t you bring him back like you did last time?”

Charles gestured to Jakob’s legs and shook his head.

“Is he hurt?” Jakob guessed. Charles nodded. 

“I’ll go myself to get him back,” Jakob said. “Will you be there?”

Charles shook his head, pointing to Jakob’s legs and then to himself. His stomach growled and Charles threw himself back under the waves before he ate Jakob. 

He went the only place he could think to go. 

The serpent’s cave was nowhere near as terrifying upon his return. The water was clearer, pulling less light into the darkness of the cave. It was easier to see as he approached the bottom of the ocean. The sea was healthier than it had been in a long time.

To his pleasant surprise, he was not the only siren around.

“Oh, so you’re back,” Raven said, looking Charles up and down. “Human thing didn’t work out?”

“It was incredible, actually,” Charles retorted with a small smile. “But when we killed the serpent, it wore off.”

“ _ You _ killed the serpent? There’s no way,” Raven scoffed. 

“I helped. My human did most of the work,” Charles replied. “I only came back to see if there was a way to turn myself back into a human.”

“You want to go back?” She asked. “Really?”

“He loves me too,” Charles smiled. “I can’t wait to go back.”

“You’re crazy,” Raven shook her head. “But there’s someone in there who can help. The serpent trapped her and made her a prisoner centuries ago when it was conquering everyone else who knew how to do magic. As soon as the serpent died, everyone it trapped was freed. Most of them have left but a few have stayed and the White Queen is running everything down there now.”

“I don’t know who that is,” Charles said, tilting his head curiously. 

“She’s older than the serpent but she didn’t abuse the sea,” Raven replied. “And since you technically freed her, she’ll probably help.” 

Charles looked at Raven. She had no reason to lie to him. 

“Why are you here?” He asked as they descended to the cave side by side.

“I heard that the serpent was dead and had to see for myself,” Raven said easily. “And now I’m helping the White Queen out.”

They were silent for a moment as they entered the cave. Charles was not prepared for the amount of life teeming between the stalagmites. Fish of all sizes and a few sirens swam back and forth, the sirens all talking at once. Charles had thought that sirens were a dying breed and that he and Raven were among the last of them, but it seemed that most had been imprisoned by the serpent. 

Raven pointed him to a siren with a shockingly white tail and long yellow hair and hung back while Charles approached her.

“What do you want?” she asked as soon as Charles got close, squinting at him. “Wait, I know you.”

“You do?” Charles asked in surprise. The other siren nodded.

“I gave you the charm when you left the cave the first time. How come you’re not a human?”

“The spell wore off when we killed the serpent,” Charles replied.

“We?” The White Queen asked.

“My human and me,” Charles clarified. “The serpent attacked us and we killed it. But then the spell on me wore off, and there was a spell on him too that’s gone, and the charm you gave me doesn’t work anymore either.”

“Everything the serpent did is being undone,” The White Queen said. Charles sighed. 

“I want to redo the spell and be human again,” Charles admitted, staring at the White Queen. “I’m here to try and do that.”

“That’s a spell that requires a lot of work when done properly,” She replied. “The serpent, to its credit, did do that spell very well for you. I can do it, but I can’t make it less painful or change the effects. You still need to sacrifice something, and every step you take will be agonizing.”

“Erik is worth it,” Charles said firmly. “And I had a question about what I could sacrifice. And about the serpent’s old charms.”

*

Two hours later, Charles surfaced next to the island he had left Erik on, followed by Raven and the White Queen.

“I want to see this human of yours, if you’re so in love with him and not going to eat him,” Raven had said as she followed them. Charles had shrugged and let her tag along. 

Jakob was there, standing next to a small boat. Erik was still on the beach, talking quietly to his father. He had propped himself up against a rock, and his back was to Charles. Jakob saw Charles first and jumped in surprise. 

“There’s more of them,” he said. Erik turned his head and looked at Charles, eyes lighting up in surprise. 

“You’re back,” He said. “Are you still a fish?”

Charles nodded. 

_ Not for long, _ he promised. 

“You got your telepathy back,” Erik grinned. 

_ Sort of. We found another charm that didn’t work anymore, but the White Queen put a temporary spell on it so I could talk to you.   _ Charles replied, squeezing the small ring balanced on one fingertip.  _ We need your help to make it stay. And to make me human again. _

“I can’t help with that,” the smile slipped from Erik’s face. “I can’t really do anything right now.” 

_ You can, _ Charles promised.  _ But I need you to come into the sea for a moment.  _

Erik grimaced and turned away, talking quietly to Jakob. Charles did not know what he said but Jakob nodded and picked up Erik, carrying him to the surf and setting him down gently. 

_ You remember how the spell requires a sacrifice?  _ Charles asked, reaching out to rest one hand on Erik’s foot. Erik nodded, staring at Charles’ hand. 

“Yeah. I remember.” Erik replied distractedly.

_ I am sacrificing my legs so you can get yours back,  _ Charles said, nodding to the White Queen so she would start.

“Charles wait, you can’t do that,” Erik started to protest, but Charles disappeared under the water, pulling Erik a little further from the beach with him. The White Queen was already chanting, and Raven had disappeared, going somewhere she did not have to watch. 

The pain started, a familiar pain that Charles wanted to forget, thought he had forgotten, wracking his body. It ended quickly though, as numbness spread throughout his tail, settling bone deep. Charles looked in surprise at his tail, which he realized he could no longer control. He poked at it curiously. His fingers, he noticed, were not webbed anymore. 

The White Queen’s voice grew softer, and she finished the spell, looking over Charles once in satisfaction. 

“When you leave the water again, your tail will split. But whenever you swim, it will be with the same grace of a siren,” She reminded him. 

“Thank you,” Charles replied, placing one hand on the White Queen’s arm. 

“You freed me from the serpent,” She said. “The least I could do is repay you for the kindness. Is your power working?”

Charles reached out for Erik’s mind, having lost him in the confusion. It seemed he had scrambled out of the water and onto the beach as soon as he could stand again. Erik was cautiously curling his toes in the sand, not believing what Charles had just done.

“It works,” Charles confirmed.

“When you agreed to sacrifice your legs and I transferred Erik’s injury to you, it also took some of his ability to have powers and transferred to you. But your powers are different than his, so yours are the ones that stayed. Your powers should last for the rest of your life,” She informed him.

“What if you die?” Charles asked.

“You made a deal with the serpent that transformed you. I put a spell on you. It’ll last, I promise,” She assured him. “Anything else?”

Charles shook his head. 

“I think I’m ready to go back,” He looked to the surface, to Erik.

“I’ve never seen a siren love a human,” The White Queen said. “But the way you do it, it doesn’t look too bad.”

Charles laughed.

“If you get past the urge to devour them, it’s not,” He said. The White Queen thought about it and shook her head.

“I like the way they taste,” she said, pressing the now useless charm into his hand. Charles had not realized that he’d dropped it. It must have happened during the spell. He accepted it and thanked her again. The White Queen nodded and swam off, disappearing into the depths.

Raven was still nowhere to be found, but Charles figured she would show up at some point to nag him about his choices. At least he could talk to her now if he wanted to.

Charles looked at the small charm in his hand. Edie and Jakob wore similar rings, he remembered. It must be a human thing. He slipped it onto his finger. 

He took one last breath of sea water and broke the surface, pushing wet hair off of his face.

“Charles!” Erik called from the beach. “You’re alive.”

“I am alive,” Charles replied, smiling. 

“Wait, you can talk now? Since when? Your voice is amazing, you’ve been holding out on me. Do you still have your tongue this time? You are going to enjoy food so much,” Erik said quickly as he rushed into the water. He threw himself on top of Charles, pushing them both under for a moment. Charles laughed and pulled Erik into his arms, holding him close. 

_ I never want to leave you again,  _ Charles thought.

_ So don’t,  _ Erik replied easily, smiling as he kissed Charles.  _ But you have to let me go so I can breathe. _

Charles released him, letting Erik catch his breath. He stayed where he was, drifting lightly. He watched Erik look him over, zeroing in on his tail.

“Aren’t you human now?” He asked.

“When I get out of the water I will be,” Charles glanced down. “What happened last time will happen again.”

“Why did you sacrifice your legs?” Erik asked, moving as close as he could to Charles in the water.

“Every single step I took hurt. I do not know enough of your language to explain the pain, but you saw how I could barely walk. I never liked walking and if I had sacrificed something else, every step would have been the same. It just… When she said she could do it, it just made sense. It was not a hard decision,” Charles faltered through his explanation. Erik listened silently, waiting until Charles finished speaking to reply.

“Thank you,” He said simply, drawing Charles close and holding him tightly. “Let’s go home.”

Erik clasped his hand and they swam to the boat. Jakob had thoughtfully brought an oversized shirt for Charles and was waiting with it. Erik helped Charles into the boat, watching curiously as the scales poured from his tail, gathering at the bottom of the boat, revealing his legs underneath. 

Charles put on the shirt while Erik mumbled something under his breath and ran back to the beach, digging around in the sand for a moment before returning to the boat. He clambered in, joining Charles and Jakob. 

Charles leaned on Erik for the trip back, too exhausted to do anything else. Jakob jumped out of the boat right away, running off to go run his country, or so he claimed, leaving Charles and Erik alone. 

“There’s a tradition among humans,” Erik broke their comfortable silence. “It marks an important milestone in a relationship, when the people decide that they want to be together forever.”

“A wedding?” Charles asked. 

“No, before the wedding. It’s called a proposal. One person decides they want a wedding, and then they make a speech about why they want to be married to the other person. They look like this,” Erik explained, shifting away from Charles to get down on one knee in the boat. 

“Then the person who gets down on one knee has a ring,” Erik continued, pulling the ring that had served as Charles’ charm from his pocket. “And then the person says some corny stuff about romance, but I don’t like that so I’m going to say something else instead.”

Charles nodded, enthralled.

“My mother was right about something before she died. She worried that I was never going to find someone who made her as happy as my father did. And I did worry. I don’t like people. I don’t make good impressions like my parents do. I’m always angry. My father always says that Mother was his better half, that she made him a better king. I think you’d make me a better king. A better person. I want to have a wedding and get married to you. Can we do that? Because I spent so many years thinking I would be alone,” Erik held the ring out to Charles. Charles nodded, smiled, and took it, giving Erik the ring that the White Queen had given him. 

“Erik, you’re not alone,” Charles said gently as he pulled the other man into an embrace, “You’re not alone . ”

*

_ There were legends, of course. Years later, after their reign had ended and the kings had passed on, small children would ask their parents for stories. The one they heard was a fantastical one, of hope and magic, and a little heartbreak—of a siren who changed his entire life because he wanted to be with a prince.  _

_ The new legend replaced that old one, of a siren who had turned himself human to be with a woman that he loved, only to kill her and return to the sea a monster.  _

_ What they told instead was the myth of the dashing King Charles and the valiant King Erik, and a story that started simply enough, when a siren loved a human.  _

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> If you liked this, I sometimes write other things at bad-luck-blue-eyes.tumblr.com.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Art - When A Siren Loves A Human [X-Men Big Bang 2016]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6722800) by [thacmis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thacmis/pseuds/thacmis)




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